Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said on Saturday that despite the fact that the provincial government had to announce the budget in difficult circumstances, still it was committed to meeting the targets it had set in it for the next financial year (FY) 2024-25, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Addressing post-budget press conference in Karachi, the chief minister said the Sindh government had long-term goals in mind while announcing the budget.
He said the provincial government would complete development projects worth Rs1,000 billion.
He lamented that the federal government had imposed a ban on new development schemes for the province. “Why did the Center did this to us is beyond my comprehension?,” the CM questioned, adding the Sindh government’s focus would now remain on completing the existing development projects.
Murad said that 52 per cent of the Sindh budget was spent on the payment of salaries to the provincial government employees.
He vowed to provide clean drinking water to each and every person in the province. “The government has allocated over Rs8 billion for the ‘Hari Card’,” the CM said.
Admitting that the provincial government had failed to achieve the required economic growth rate in the last FY, the chief minister said it looked difficult that the government would be able to achieve the target of 3.5 per cent it had set for the next financial year.
However, he went on to say, the provincial government would do its best to meet the target.
The CM said that measures had been enumerated in the budget the Sindh government intended to take for the rehabilitation of flood-affected people.
CM Murad said that development of the province has been focused in the budget by earmarking a huge amount of Rs950 billion for the purpose.
He said minimum wage has been increased to Rs37,000 and same procedure would also be applied on government employees in the province from grade 1 to 6 to bridge gap in salaries and fixing there initial pay from Rs37,000.
He said 30 percent increase in the salaries of grade 1 to 6, 25 percent from grade 7 to 16 and 22 percent from grade 17 to 22 has been made in the provincial budget.
He said alleviation of poverty, ensuring social protection of low-income people are the main points of the provincial budget.