Gas shortage: Sindh CM writes letter to PM

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah lamented on Friday that the province has been deprived of its due share in gas supply.

Speaking to the media, he said he has written another letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan, demanding that the province be provided its constitutional rights.

“Sindh has been producing 2700 to 2900 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd). If the province gets gas as per its demand, it can produce cheaper electricity,” the chief minister said. “At present, we are being provided less than 1200 mmcfd gas.”

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He said Sindh was to get Rs350 billion from the federal divisible pool but it got only Rs256 billion, adding that the province received Rs10 billion less than its share in the previous year.

Shah said tax collection has been registering growth in Sindh as compared to other provinces.

Earlier, on Feb 4, the chief ministerchaired a preparatory session for the National Finance Commission (NFC) meeting here.

Provincial Chief Secretary, Secretary Finance and other concerned officials attended the meeting.

Murad Ali Shah complained that Sindh receives delayed payments of its share of the NFC Award.

Chief Minister Shah said that Sindh has its own sources of generating revenues, which are being enhanced by the government. He said the province generates 16 percent non-tax income.

Sindh also generates 20% of infrastructure development, 26% of General Sales Tax (GST) on services and 22 percent of the province income, Murad Ali Shah said.

He said the federal government gave four billion rupees to Sindh in Year 2006 in respect of GST on services, seven billion rupees in 2009 and Rs. 17 billion in 2010. Sindh itself started collection of the sales tax from Year 2011 and generated over 28 billion rupees, which reached to 100 billion rupees in 2017.