Senate Standing Committee Finalizes PDSP Budget 2017-18

Senate Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Reforms in its meeting on Saturday has finalized its recommendations for PSDP Budget 2017-18. The same will now be sent to Senate Standing Committee on Finance, Revenue, Economics, Statistics and Privatization.

The Committee met here on Friday with Senator Saifullah Magsi in the chair. The Committee approved majority of the recommendations of Senator Tahir Mashhadi, Senator Kulsoom Parveen and Senators Usman Kakar, Sardar Azam Musakhel and Gul Bashra in today’s sitting of the meeting. A few recommendations were withdrawn by the Senators as similar proposals were accepted or clubbed with other recommendations in previous meetings.

The recommended proposals of three Senators of Pashtoon KhwaMilli Awami Party included among others allocation of Rs 20 billion each for construction of roads from Yarik to Zhob and Zhob to Kachlak, allocation of 20 billion each for railway sections of Bostan to Zhob, D I Khan and Kohat, establishing vocational institutions in Zhob Quetta, Qilla Saifullah, funds for increasing power generation of Quetta thermal power from 25 MW to 200 MW.

Their proposals also included exemptions in sales tax to dumper trucks of Chromite and coal, funds for establishment of cadet colleges in Musakhel and Sherani and allocation of 10 Rs.billion for agricultural tube wells in Baluchistan to convert them to Solar power among other recommendations.

Senator Tahir Hussain Mashhadi’s recommendations included:

• removing disparity in amount of pensions payable to old and new pensioners,
• announcement of subsidized long term fixed mark-up loans to set up new industrial units,
• no reduction or re-allocation be made in approved development budget without approval of Parliament,
• proposed increase in Presidency and Prime Minister (PM) office budget be withdrawn and amount be allocated for Higher Education,
• lowering of sales tax from 17% to 10% on all items,
• audit of all discretionary powers and funds,
• increasing budgetary allocation for all hydroelectric projects big and small,
• additional subsidy on agriculture and electricity for land owners of Baluchistan among others.

The Committee recommended the proposals of Senator Kalsoom Parveen including allocation of Rs. 1 billion for completion of Cadet College Kharan, allocation of Rs. 500 million for development of Ziarat town and allocation of Rs. 1 billion for every district of the province of Baluchistan among other proposals.