Sindh PA adopts three bills: Centre urged to give 80 percent compensation to Sindh growers

The Sindh Assembly legislators on Thursday dubbed the Prime Minister's farmers' package 'untrue' and demanded of the federal government to pay a compensation of 80 per cent on the electricity bills of the Sindh's growers using tube-wells.
Debating a resolution of ruling PPP's lawmaker, Ghulam Murtaza Baloch in the house, other lawmakers said that the federal government should introduce a single slab electricity tariff for growers across the country.
Through a resolution adopted unanimously, the house demanded of the federal government to pay 80 per cent compensation to the Sindh's growers on running their tube-wells on highly expensive electricity.
Murtaza Baloch said that the government should provide Sindh's growers with electricity for agriculture purposes at a tariff being offered to the farmers in Punjab ie at Rs5 per unit.
He said that the federal government was charging Rs17 per unit from Sindh's farmers, whereas growers in Punjab were paying Rs5 per unit.
He asked his party's government to approach Islamabad also for supplying power to the agriculture sector on discounted rates on the pattern of Punjab.
Syed Sardar Ahmed of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) asked Islamabad to introduce single slab power tariffs for agriculture purposes across the country. He said that the power utility rates being offered to Punjab on concessionary rates was 'unfair'. He said that electricity rates should be same in all the four provinces.
Senior Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said that a huge publicity of the prime minister's growers' package was made and questioned the scheme's viability to Sindh. "We are deceived by the growers' package," he said, adding that the neighbouring country's government provided electricity to its growers free of cost for running tube-wells, fertilisers on a low price and other subsidies.
PTI's Khurrum Sher Zaman Khan asked the PM to look beyond Punjab. He said that it was unjust to provide electricity to Sindh at Rs17 per unit and Punjab at Rs5 per unit. The house also adopted resolutions, including 'The Sindh Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2017", "The Sindh Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2017" and "The Sindh Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill, 2015".
The Sindh Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2017, will make the DNA test mandatory in rape cases. "The Sindh Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2017" will now permit the residents of other provinces and the federal government officials, living or serving in Sindh, to acquire gun licence". "The Sindh Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill, 2015," envisages an increase in compensation amount for different categories of casualties and fatalities in road accidents.