Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, leader of the House in the Sindh Assembly, complained on Tuesday that while his resource-constrained government had so far spent over Rs 33 billion on the post-2010 flood relief works, the federal government has yet to fulfil the financial commitments it had made with the calamity-stricken government.
“The prime minister and the federal government had committed to share the (financial) burden, but so far they have not shared,” the chief minister told the Sindh Assembly, which was called to order by Speaker Nisar Khuhro at 11:15 am, with a routine delay of 75 minutes, at the Assembly Secretariat.
In a statement on relief operations, the chief minister said his government had spent Rs 21 billion and Rs 12 billion, respectively, during 2010-11 and 2011-12 on relief works in areas “colossally” damaged by the “unprecedented” 2010 floods.
The chief minister said his government had given away Rs 20,000 each to some 700,000 families under the Watan Card scheme and the financial burden had reflected adversely on the province’s Public Sector Development Programme.
“Again this year, the calamity continues… some 7,000 houses are being constructed from our own resources,” said the leader of the house.
Earlier, replying to supplementary queries during the question-hour, Sindh Rehabilitation Minister Muzaffar Shajra said the provincial government was formulating laws to make it mandatory for the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to inform the government about the area they choose for social work.
He complained that some NGOs were working in specific areas for their convenience, leaving the most-affected ones unattended.
Later, talking on a point-of-order, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lawmaker Taimoor Talpur said dewatering works in the five union councils of his constituency, Umerkot district, were badly affected due to frequent transfer of the concerned executive engineers.
He said a lack of excavators was another problem facing the area.
The speaker said somebody would be able to respond to Talpur’s matter on Wednesday.
When Anwar Maher of the PPP expressed concern over the frequent earthquakes, Sindh Information Minister Shazia Marri said the authorities concerned would soon be submitting a detailed report on the earthquakes that jolted the metropolitan this month.
Saleem Khursheed Khokar slammed the authorities concerned in Lahore that he said were depriving Christians of their religious site at Gosha-e-Aman and were giving it to the Kulsoom Trust.
Muzammil Qureshi said the National Database Registration Authority had stopped work in its offices, due to which people are facing hardships in getting their computerised national identity cards.
The house would meet again on Wednesday at 10:00 am.
