KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Thursday expressed disappointment over the importance given and lack of funds issued by the federal government for public sector development projects in the province.
“This is the importance the federal government is giving Sindh,” said the chief minister while presiding over a preparatory meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) to be chaired by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on February 26 in Islamabad.
The agenda of the NEC includes establishment of sanctioning limits of development of fora, review of PSDP 2017-18, and socio-economic objectives of the 12th Five Year Plan 2018-23.
CM Sindh said that the federal government has launched 126 projects in Sindh under the public sector development projects (PSDP) 2017-18. The provincial government is executing 27 projects worth Rs27.326 billion against which the Centre has only released Rs7.385 billion till January 20, 2018 that is merely 27 percent of the allocation.
It was also pointed out that there were no releases made so far against six PSDP projects worth Rs744.887 million in Sindh. These seven schemes include roads in Hyderabad, hospital and water supply schemes Nawabshah and others.
Federal govt released only 20 pct funds for three schemes
Chairman Planning and Development Mohammad Waseem told the CM Sindh that there were three schemes of construction of small dams, lining of distributaries, and rehabilitation of irrigation and drainage system for which the federal government has only released twenty percent of the allocated amount.
CM Sindh termed it as a violation of the release policy of the Planning and Development and Reforms division which states that seventy percent of the allocated amount should have been released.
CM Sindh was further informed that there was Rs7.9 billion throw-forward for the construction of small dams project worth Rs12.211 billion, and the project of lining of distributaries was launched for Rs13.82 billion against which only Rs400 million have been allocated which shows a Rs6,.02 billion throw-forward.
Similarly, schemes of revamping and rehabilitation of irrigation and drainage system has been launched worth Rs16.795 billion, and only Rs400 million have been allocated for the current year leaving a throw-forward of Rs4.046 billion.
The chief minister expressed this displeasure and said that it shows that these schemes would never complete if the allocation of such a meager amount is made.
Federal govt attitude in cost sharing
The chief minister also expressed annoyance over the attitude of the federal government of sharing costs of several projects. He recalled that revision of S-III project was cleared by Central Development Working Party (CDWP) in July 2017 with an increase in the cost from Rs7.982 billion to Rs36.117 billion. The project was taken to ECNEC and the federal government was urged to share 50 percent cost of the revised PC-I.
However, the federal finance secretary reluctantly agreed to provide funds to some extent at later stage, but the minutes of the meeting are still awaited. A similar attitude of the federal government in sharing one-third cost of five combined effluent treatment plants projects has been witnessed.
CM Sindh said that he would urge PM Abbasi to release the allocated amount of Rs392.29 million to Sindh government for the urban water supply scheme Benazirabad. The chief minister also prepared a case to take up with the prime minister that work on Jamshoro-Sehwan dual-carriage way should be started at the earliest.
It was also pointed out that the National High Authority (NHA) has launched Rs319 billion road sector schemes against which Sindh has been given only a share of Rs5 billion which is a grave injustice.
