Daily Times

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Wednesday said that development projects worth Rs990 billion are underway and at different stages of completion in Karachi, and now the government has earmarked another Rs110 billion for their completion and new development initiatives.

CM Sindh said this while addressing a post-budget press conference here at the Auditorium of Sindh Assembly, who was flanked by Provincial ministers, advisor law, MPAs, chairperson P&D, Secretary Finance and secretaries of different departments.

The chief minister said that Rs110 billion have been allocated for completion of on-going and launching new development schemes in Karachi.

“At present different development schemes of Rs 990 billion initiated under ADP, donor agencies, Public Private Partnership were at different stages,” he said and added in the next ADP Rs110 billion have been allocated for the development of the city,” he said.

Shah said that at least Rs 3000 billion were required for development of Karachi, and the government is short on resources, but he claimed that despite the shortage; the PPP government in Sindh has completed and launched major development schemes.

Shah, while counting number of schemes, such as widening of Shahrah-e-Faisal, Tariq Road, University Road, Madinat-ul-Hikmat Road, Shahrah-e-Quaideen, Hawksbay road, construction of a large number of flyovers, underpasses and various others, claimed that all these projects have been completed by his government.

CM Sindh while taking a dig at MQM questioned “what they have done who have been the rulers of cities for over two decades.” The chief minister said that his government presented a Rs1477.9 billion deficit budget but assured that the deficit of Rs25.73 billion would be covered by curtailing non-development expenditures and an OverDraft from the state bank. But the CM vowed to meet all the expenditures, particularly of the development portfolio.

Shah said that the federal government had vowed to provide Rs 760 billion during the current financial year, but so far they have released Rs613 billion which was short by Rs147 billion. “Now the federal government has revised the federal transfers from Rs760 billion to Rs717 billion but even they have to pay Rs104 billion by the end of June 2021,” he said.

Mr Shah said that the federal government has assured that it would give Rs 869.68 billion in straight transfers and hopefully this figure would not be revised.

The chief minister said that the provincial receipts have been anticipated to be Rs329.319 billion, adding that these funds were made through tax and non tax receipts. The Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) was given a target of Rs125 billion and hopefully the target would be achieved by the end of this month, he said and added for next financial year a Rs125 billion target has been set for SRB.

The CM said that the Board of Revenue (BoR) had a target of Rs 36.4 billion but due to heavy rains and natural calamities the provincial government had declared various districts as calamity hit areas and their recoveries were postponed, therefore the BOR would be able to achieve its target.

He said that next year’s collection target of BoR has been kept at Rs 30.64 billion.

Talking about non-tax receipts, the chief minister said that they have been estimated at Rs 24 billion. The provincial government through the Home department to recover Rs24 billion in challans and some other fees, and added around Rs71 billion would be received in Foreign-aided projects. He also said that the fed grant for development would be Rs5.3 billion.