Centre is Doing What Sindh Govt Must do: Asad Umar

Federal Planning Minister Asad Umar lashed Sindh government and said the storm drains in Karachi were saturated by encroachments due to incompetence of the provincial government. He added that still, the federal government was giving funds for their removal.

The federal minister took strong exception against chief minister’s reservations on the centre’s Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) and said that it was their discretion how it wanted to lay it out.

Responding to complaints of Sindh’s meager share in the development budget, Asad Umar said that it was people’s money, not provincial government.

He added that the Sindh government did not lay an inch of motorway in the province, adding that the Multan-Sukkur section of the motorway was built by the federal government.

He said that the centre would construct the Sukkur-Hyderabad motorway for which they have already expend Rs 98 billion.

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The minister ruled out reservations on the amount of budget in comparison with Punjab.

Asad Umar said Punjab was getting Rs 93 billion while Sindh’s share was Rs 90 billion under regional allocation even though the former was way more populated than the latter.

Asad Umar commented it was funny of Murad Ali Shah to blame the federal government for working on petty schemes only.

He said that they built roads in Sindh, cleaned storm drains, removed encroachments, and paid compensation to inhabitants around it.

Asad Umar iterated that the federal government had to do so because the Sindh government wasn’t doing its job.

He added that the centre would build and uplift motorways, roads, drains, dams, and canals in the province.

The planning minister said that the centre reserved the right to spend its development budget.

He added that there was a difference between the Sindh government and its people.

To a question, the federal minister said that they would spend $1 billion for purchasing vaccines next year while they spent $250 million for the purpose during the outgoing fiscal year.

The federation spent Rs 51 billion on upgrading hospitals and establishing vaccination centres, he added.

Plans ahead

The federal planning minister asserted as many as 320 development projects would be completed in the next fiscal year.

He added that the government has earmarked Rs 1,525 billion for ongoing projects and their priority would be to finish them in time.

Asad Umar said that all development projects require a mammoth sum of Rs 5,500 billion to materialize.

Comparing allocation

The minister compared development budgets over the past years. He informed that the incumbent government has allocated 40% for the energy and transport sectors which was 56% in the fiscal year 2016-2017.

Asad Umar told that PML-led government only reserved 4% budget for water projects while they have raised it to 10%.

He said that there would be work on three major water projects including Diamer Basha, Mohmand, and Dasu dams on which the government has collectively spent Rs 84 billion already.

The planning minister said the government would bring 300,000 acres of land under cultivation.

He informed that Public-Private Board (PPB) has also approved projects worth Rs 244 billion.

He said the government has earmarked Rs 5 billion for transmitting power to the industrial zone in Gwadar.

The government has allocated Rs 44 billion for higher education and Rs 10 billion for environmental projects in the upcoming budget, he added.

He informed about spending Rs 51 billion spent in the health sector by the federal government alone.