A fresh project of $100 million is all set to start in Thar, as work has been started on the next coal block to produce 4500 megawatts of electricity, Provincial Energy Minister, Imtiaz Shaikh told the Sindh Assembly on Monday.
The pre-budget discussion went on quite smoothly with no unpleasant incident, as opposition piled up its criticism to tag the Sindh government with 'poor governance' but the treasury widely defended its rule with tall claims of development and relief to the public.
In reply to the opposition speeches, Imtiaz Shaikh said that the Sindh government is working on big energy projects and work on the another coal block will start soon to generate about 4500 megawatts of electric power, saying that the investments in the country is taking place, as a project of $100 million is starting. At present, 660 megawatts of electricity being produced from the existing Thar coal field, the minister added.
However, MQM's legislator, Khawaja Izhar-ul-Hasan said that the PPP government continues to ignore the opposition's demands and proposals, adding that none of the ministers has detailed about the budgetary spending on the development of health, education, law and order and agriculture sectors. He said that the PPP government played havoc with the entire province in its 11 year term with no development schemes starting in the opposition legislators' constituencies.
Earlier, Sindh Local Government Minister, Saeed Ghani said that his party rule has started work on installing Bone Marrow Transplant at Dow University, adding that the world largest snorkel was handed over to the KMC. He said that his party government also established the highways and flyovers. He asked the MQM to accept that it had housed non-political terrorists that ravaged the entire city.
"I don't say that all of it [MQM] was based on terrorists as it has politicians too," he said, citing the MQM's founding leader's historic speech in India on the creation of Pakistan. Sindh Works and Services Minister, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah said that the province has allocated Rs32 billion of development budget for roads communication sector with a total of 349 schemes.
"This fiscal year we will complete 109 schemes while the remaining will be carried out next fiscal year," the minister said, adding that the government has chalked out a 20-year future roadmap for the province. He said that the agriculture sector had been allocated with Rs33 billion budgetary funds for uplift of which Rs 23 billion has been spent.
Khurrum Sher Zaman Khan of the PTI said that the PPP government failed to ensure provision of clean water to the people with corruption on the rise. He said that the 18th Constitutional Amendment has no threats from his party's federal government and rejected the PPP's criticisms in this connection.
GDA's Nand Kumar said that the opposition legislators have been spared from the funds the government has allocated to its treasury members. "The treasury members are given Rs40 million, each, but the opposition is ignored," he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019

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