Karachi - The Sindh Assembly authenticated nine-month budget of the province with a majority vote from ruling Pakistan People’s Party in an unprecedented Sunday session.

“Maybe proceedings were held in past on Sunday but I have not witnessed it in my over 17 year assembly tenure,” said the chief minister and added that it was necessary to authenticate it before October 1 as their three-month authentication would expire on September 30.

Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah, who also holds the finance ministry portfolio-laid the 153 grants of annual expenditure of nine month of fiscal year 2018-19 from October 1 to June 30, 2019 before the house which were approved through a majority vote from PPPP lawmakers.

The opposition parties including Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, Grand Democratic Alliance demanded for cuts in the budgetary allocations through 113 cut motions but most of them were rejected by the house and remaining were withdrawn by opposition leader in protest for not accepting them.

“When the government is not ready to accept our suggestions and cuts in expenditure then why we should waste our time in presenting these cut motions,” he said. The chief minister however said that he would respond on reasons behind rejecting every cut motion and believe that the budget does not need any cuts.

The opposition leader then announced withdrawing cut motions on demands for grants and said that they would not waste their time in unnecessary exercise if their suggestions do not have any importance.

The house later adopted the entire demands for grants amounting to over Rs 840 billion with opposition members opposing it with loud No’s and treasury members with Ayes. It is pertinent to mention that out of Rs 1.14 trillion total Sindh budget outlay, over Rs 290 billion were authenticated for three months.

The speaker after the approval congratulated the house for passing the budget and prorogued the house proceedings for indefinite time after reading out message from the Governor Sindh Imran Ismail.  

Earlier the provincial assembly proceedings began after an hour delay from schedule proceedings.

Making last speech on budget debate, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said that the provincial assembly had debated budget for 36 hours with all members from different parliamentary parties participating in the process.

“During three month authentication, 30-hour debates were made and now 40 hours which make it to most time for debate on budget in Sindh Assembly that even the three other provincial assemblies could not compete jointly,” he claimed.

Speaking over shortfall in federal transfers, Shah said that at the end of first quarter of fiscal year, they were facing a shortfall of Rs 59 billion in transfers against an estimated receivable amount of Rs 166 billion.

This shortfall has forced us to slash our development expenditure and made a cut of Rs 50 billion in ADP, he said.

Responding to a criticism of even continuing projects from 2003 in budget book, Shah said that 90 percent on-going development schemes have been given 100 percent allocation and would successfully complete 956 on-going schemes, 256 more than the previous year.

The chief minister said that his government has given special focus on improving primary health care and were able to reduce child, mother mortality rates, stunting has come down to 9 percent during the last five years.

Responding to criticism on Cyber Knife, Shah said that he has never claimed that the Cyber Knife center was first ever in the world instead it was the first ever free of cost center in the region.

Rejecting high perks claimed by opposition members for NICVD director and surgeon, he said that such remarks without proper information could discourage talented people in authority.

On law and order situation, the chief minister said that in 2008 it was worst all over Sindh and even in 2013, Karachi was sixth largest dangerous city in the world. “It has witnessed 51 terrorist incidents and now it was zero. In 2013 eight murder incidents were recorded every day and now the figure has come down to one. In 2012, 530 terrorist incidents had taken place in the city.”

He also said that the PTI won election 2018 in Karachi because of peace in the city, otherwise it would have never happened.

The chief minister also announced bringing police reforms named after a minor girl Amal who was killed during police encounter in DHA. A bill to making mandatory for private hospitals to treat wounded patients was also announced after the name of the girl along with a project with the coordination of Aman Foundation to bring ambulance service in province whose capacity would be raised to 200 fully equipped ambulances by December 2019.

He informed that there were 14 four by four ambulances in Thar and all were functional. “It was Benazir Bhutto who initiated Thar Coal project and if not put on backburner, it would have met all energy needs of the country by now,” he said but added that despite all hurdles, and constant efforts from PPP, they would produce first electron of power by year end.

He also informed that Tharis were made part of the ongoing projects in the area while Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company had formed a Thar Foundation and is running 24 schools in Islamkot but it was due to their efforts that women in the area are taking part in economic activity and had become dumper drivers and engineers.

It is due to these efforts that the area which never voted for PPPP till 2008, had given all assembly seats except one to PPPP this election, he said.

Rejecting Kalabagh dam in strongest words, Shah said that unless the last drop of blood is there in people of Sindh, no one could dare make that dam.  In a sarcastic mode, the chief minister said that the PM House has sold eight buffalos for Rs 2.3 million and gave a calculation that Rs 9.8 million could have been easily earned through selling their milk therefore a NAB case could be possible against those involved in the process. He demanded for repealing NAB law.

Speaking on agriculture Income Tax, the chief minister said that he had paid over Rs 2.5 million agriculture tax and rejected that it is charged Rs 200 per acre. “There are people who do not pay this tax similar to those in other business sector,” he said.

He informed the house that the K-IV project estimation has reached twice of its initial cost estimates due to change in route of pipeline and admitted wrongdoings in the project.

“We need federal government support for completion of this project, otherwise its completion would be difficult,” he said and added he was ready to conduct its audit from any firm the federal government wants. “We would punish the officers who made this ill-conceived planning but we cannot penalize the people of Karachi,” he said and added he has heard that prime minister was giving Rs50 billion for Karachi for which he requested him to give funds first for K-IV so that it could be completed in time.

He said that the helicopters and plane owned by Sindh government were not purchased in PPPP tenures and they even do not have copters papers to sell them.

He also rejected excess expenditure claim on helicopter’s hangers and said that it was constructed by Civil Aviation Authority not Sindh government.