ISLAMABAD: Senator Sherry Rehman on Wednesday expressed reservations on decisions of National Economic Council (NEC) and demanded more funds for health and education in upcoming budget.
In various tweets, she announced of the decisions and critiqued the government for neglecting the province of Sindh that contributes 30 percent to the GDP of Pakistan and produces 60 percent of the total gas reserves for the country.
“The National Economic Council has approved Rs 2.1 trillion under the PSDP project scheme, which is 63 per cent of the budget. The aim is to appease disgruntled members of the assembly through the development budget, while 3% and 5% will be earmarked for health and education.” she tweeted.
نیشنل اکنامک کونسل نے پی ایس ڈی پی پروجیکٹ اسکیم کے تحت 2.1 ٹرلین کی منظوری دی ہے جو بجٹ کا 63 فیصد ہے۔ اس کا مقصد ترقیاتی بجٹ کے ذریعے ناراض ارکان اسیمبلی کو مطمئن کرنا ہے، دوسری طرف صحت اور تعلیم کے لئے 3 اور 5 فیصد بجٹ مقرر کیا جائے گا۔ نیا پاکستان اب ترقیاتی بجٹ سے بنے گا۔
— SenatorSherryRehman (@sherryrehman) June 9, 2021
She added that development funds for Sindh have been drastically reduced for 2021 as PSDP allocations for the province have been slashed to only Rs 5.1 billion which is an egregious injustice. The Senator called for the adjournment of the House to discuss the critical matter of public concern to avoid a dilemma.
The National Economic Council (NEC) met on Monday to approve about Rs2.135 trillion worth of next year’s consolidated development budget (FY2021-22) of the federal and provincial governments.
Earlier, Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah had stated at the meeting that grave injustice was being done to his province in terms of providing development funds. According to him, allocation of funds for the province has been lessened.