PESHAWAR- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Monday passed provincial budget for financial year 2014-15 and amended Finance Bill 2014. The House resumed proceedings on the demands for grants for different government departments and cut motions presented by the opposition legislators on them. The provincial assembly during the Saturday proceeding have passed only seven demands for grants for departments including provincial assembly, administration & establishment, department of finance, planning & development, information technology, revenue & estate and excise and taxation.
In the morning session of the proceedings the opposition was once again
not showing any flexibility was demanding voting on their cut motions. The opposition legislators were critical of the performance of the department of home affairs, prisons and police and were demanding reforms in them.
The Speaker, Asad Qaiser while exercising his powers under 148 of the
proceedings of the house announced the guillotining of all cut motions presented by the legislators paved way for presenting the remaining demands for grants one by one in the house for approval.
The house in the second session of the day also approved the Finance
Bill 2014 while including one amendment of the Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao of Qoumi Watan Party.
The appendix-II of the bill regarding revision of the slabs of
professional tax also attracted criticism from opposition, while increase in tax on agriculture income even dismayed a treasury member, Samiullah Alizai. However, Senior Minister, Siraj-ul-Haq demanded the revision of all taxes and termed them in the interest of the province.
He said that the provincial government has presented a poor-friendly
budget and maximum relief has been extended to them. He said that the revenue collected from these taxes would be utilized for the development of the province.The senior minister later under Article 123 of the Constitution also laid the authenticated schedule on the table of the house.
Later, on the demand of the PPP legislator, Nighat Yasmin Orakzai, the
Chief Minister Pervez Khattak announced the payment of two extra-salaries for the employees of the provincial assembly.
He also committed that the provincial government through Deputy
Commissioners (D.Cs) will seek recommendations regarding for awarding the bomb disposal units for disposing of 12-kilogram each bombs in Hayatabad and Charsadda.