Supplementary demands for grants approved

The National Assembly Saturday approved Rs 5.27 trillion supplementary demands for grants and appropriation for various departments for current fiscal year 2013-14. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Zahid Hamid presented the supplementary demands of excess charge expenditure in the National Assembly for approval.
A total of 111 supplementary demands of various ministries and its departments were presented in the Lower House of the Parliament. According to documents, repayment of domestic debt is Rs 4.667 trillion, Rs 367.7 billion foreign loans payment, Rs 43.45 billion for repayment of short-term foreign credits, Rs 89.75 billion servicing of foreign debt, Rs 56.875 billion external development loans and advances by the federal government and Rs 44.228 billion servicing of domestic debt for the year ending on June 30, 2014.
The House approved supplementary demand of Rs 85 million for staff, household and allowances of the President for current fiscal year, Rs 40 million supplementary demand for Commerce Division, Rs 450 million for Pakistan Post Office Department, Rs 293.7 million for superannuation allowances and pensions, Rs 3.667 billion for elections, Rs 95 million for Wafaqi Mohtasib, etc.
The National Assembly also approved Rs 24.2 billion supplementary demands for financial year 2007-08 including Rs 13.66 billion external development loans and advances by the federal government, Rs 2 billion servicing of foreign debt, Rs 8.237 billion for foreign loans repayment, etc.
The National Assembly also approved complementary demands of Rs 73.595 billion for financial year 2006-07 including Rs 1.5 billion for Pakistan Railways, Rs 31.3 billion for external development loans and advances by the federal government, Rs 734 million of servicing of foreign debt, Rs 599.63 million of foreign loans repayment, Rs 39.43 billion for servicing of domestic debt, etc.
The House also approved supplementary demands of Rs 130.3 billion for financial year 2004-05. While discussing excess expenditures (supplementary demands), Shazia Marri wanted to move cut motions in the House on the supplementary demands but the Speaker said that it is not the tradition of the National Assembly to move cut motions on excess expenditure.
The opposition members said the government should get approval of the House before giving supplementary grants to any department. They said that we should not use the tradition to give illegal protection of excess expenditures to the government. There is no law or constitutional provision, they added, the government should fallow the law and the Constitution. The Speaker said the issue should be taken up in the concerned standing committee to amend the Constitution and rules.