ISLAMABAD - Senators from both treasury and Opposition benches have asked the government to increase government employees salaries up to 30 per cent and withdraw carbon tax on compressed natural gas (CNG). Initiating the debate on budget 2009-10, PML-N Senator Ishaq Dar said that it would have been better if the issue of NFC had been resolved before the presentation of finance bill so that the grievances of small provinces could be addressed. He said it was unfortunate that only two NFC awards had been approved instead of five during the last 25 years. He asked the government to make Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) an autonomous body in order to make the figures released by it more transparent. It would be better to give an autonomous status to FBS during the ongoing year so that there could be no question mark on its released figures, he added. On GDP growth, he said that 2 per cent growth was not sustainable and in order to reduce poverty it was necessary to bring it up to 8 per cent. Stressing the need for improving water situation in the country, he said that innovative measures were required and suggested to review Indus Water Treaty with India besides building more water reservoirs. Dar said that 3.3 per cent growth in the manufacturing sector was negative and noted that the lack of action was the main cause behind it. He stressed the need for paying attention to agriculture and manufacture sectors. He termed the 15 per cent increase in the salaries of low scale government employees unreasonable and said that Grade 1-15 employees should be given a 30 per cent increase, while for Grade 16-22, the 15 per cent increase was sufficient. Dar also proposed a massive cut in non-development expenditures and said that the country at present couldnt afford it. He suggested to reduce the fiscal deficit and supplementary budgetary allocations. About the imposition of carbon surcharge, he said that he was not against it but the government should review its imposition on CNG for providing relief to the general public. Senator Raza Rabbani presented some recommendations in the House regarding finance bill 2009-10. He said that the government should fulfil its pledge and establish National Finance Commission (NFC) and the share of the provinces in the divisible pool should be increased to 50 per cent. He said that divisible pool should not be divided only on the basis of population but the backwardness of the provinces should also be considered. He said that the government should give exact date for awarding NFC Award to the provinces. He said that the basic pay of industrial workers should be increased from Rs 6,000 per month to Rs 7,000 per month in the budget and 0.03 per cent transaction tax on cash withdrawals should be abolished. He said that legislation should be made against monopoly and cartage. Rabbani said that the proposal to withdraw five per cent FED should be applicable on the price of the locally manufactured automobiles prior to their recent increase. He said that the government had announced to increase 15 per cent interim relief to the government servants. He added that the employees of grade 1 to 16 should be given additional increase of 5 per cent. He said that the members of Parliament should voluntarily exempt themselves from this increase. About carbon surcharge, Rabbani said that it should be withdrawn from CNG and when the oil price increased to more than $ 75 per barrel in the international market, this surcharge should be made zero. He said that the government would incorporate the recommendations of the Upper House of the Parliament in the finance bill 2009-10 to provide maximum relief to the people of Pakistan. Saleem Saifullah of PML-Q proposed that the budget should be presented in the Parliament in February and March instead of June for discussion. He said that the foreign loans of Pakistan reduced for the first time in the regimes of Shaukat Aziz and Zafarulla Jamali, adding, The debt has been increased from $42 billion to $50 billion in the tenure of this government. About NFC Award, he said the present government implemented the formula that had been given by former president Pervez Musharraf. He urged the government to give more revenue share to Balochistan and the NWFP. He said that the government should implement the unanimous recommendations that would be given by the Senate. A joint session should be summoned to discuss budget 2009-10, he sought. He said that there was a dire need to bring changes in taxation system and decrease interest rate to improve industrial sector. He said that 50 per cent industries had been closed down due to the power shortage and increasing interest rate. He also stressed the need for announcement of the NFC Award within the ninety days as promised by the government. Saifullah maintained that unemployment was increasing in the country and steps should be taken to check the issue. He appreciated the governments Benazir Income Support Programme and called for enhancing its allocations for the benefit of the poor segment of the society, besides making it more transparent. He also called for provision of more funds to the provinces of NWFP and Balochistan, besides enhancing allocations for education sector in the budget. He also called for allocation of more funds for water reservoirs like Gomal Zam Dam and Tungi Dam for the prosperity of the country and provision of water for agriculture. He also urged the government to start work on cadet college at Lakki Marwat for which he had already donated 1,000 acres of land. Raja Zafarul Haq said that the government should allocate more funds for Balochistan and the NWFP provinces. He said that an independent system should be established for accountability. He said that the allocation for education sector was not sufficient as compared to the GDP and urged the government to allocate more funds for this sector. He also called for increasing minimum wages from Rs 6,000 to Rs 10,000 per month. He said that the government should give a raise of 30 per cent in the salaries of Grade 1 to 16 employees while 15 per cent increase was enough for the employees working in upper scales. He said that recommendation for international loans for Pakistan should be sought from the Parliament. Senator Zahid Khan of ANP demanded that salaries of government employees from Grade 1 to 16 be enhanced by 25 per cent. He said that foreign aid for internally displaced persons should be directly given to the NWFP province. He was of the view that the allocation of Rs 50 billion for the insurgency-hit Malakand division was not sufficient. He said that after the completion of military operation, a huge amount would be required to rebuild local administrative system and recruit more people in police force to cope with any untoward situation in the future. He also proposed to enhance the salaries of labours up to Rs 8,000 per month. Senator Haroon Akhtar of PML-Q said that economic policies of the present government were not satisfactory which resulted in missing of all targets in outgoing fiscal year, despite the fact that agriculture sector had shown positive results. He feared that government might also miss its major targets in the next financial year due to faulty policies. He blamed high interest rate for the negative growth of 3.3 per cent in the manufacturing sector. The negative growth of manufacturing sector also shows that majority of the our industrial units were closedown in the outgoing fiscal year that resulted in the unemployment of thousands of people, he added. He informed that the inflation was only 12 per cent in PML-Q tenure but it was now around 22 per cent, while the poverty level had also increased from 17 per cent to 30 per cent due to faulty policies of the incumbent government. He further said the deficit of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) had soared by Rs 34 billion and had reached Rs 72 billion while it was Rs 38 billion during the last regime. Haseebullah Khan of MQM said government didnt present anything positive for the poor in the budget, adding the government didnt pay any attention to the small medium enterprises (SMEs). He asked the government to impose agriculture tax, as it would increase the revenue. Senator Abbas Khan from Fata said government had neglected the tribal areas in the budget and urged the government to announce a relief package for the area. He criticised the government for keeping the interest rate high and demanded of the government to announce policy to boost the local industries. He asked the Opposition to move a bill for strengthening the Upper House, adding the government would support it. PPP Senator Gul Muhammad said that in the finance bill 2009-10, government wanted to broaden the tax base and create employment opportunities.