- Water and power minister says $36b being invested in energy sector under CPEC
- MQM stages walkout from NA over raid at Farooq Sattar’s residence
Federal Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif has said that the present government has added 2,665 Megawatts of additional electricity in the system during the last three years.
Taking part in the budget debate in the National Assembly on Wednesday, he said 600 MWs of electricity has been rehabilitated from the existing units during this period. He said that these are the efforts of the government that there is not load shedding during Sehr and Iftar times.
He said electricity supply and demand gap has been reduced to half in the present government as compared to the previous one.
Asif said $36 billion are being invested on energy plants under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. He said the government is implementing several energy projects free of corruption.
He told the House that on completion of these projects 11000 MWs additional electricity will be added to the national grid and total generation capacity will reach to 31000 MWs by 2018.
He pointed out that Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project will be completed by August next year, 1320 MWs Port Qasim project by June 2018 and Tarbela-IV by June next year.
He said the recovery process of electricity bills has been speed up and percentage of recovery has been increased from 83 per cent to 93 per cent. He pointed out that last year Rs 55 billion were recovered on this count which is a record.
He said the federal government has a plan to establish five grid stations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) but KP government is using delaying tactics in providing land for this purpose. He said the government has settled net hydel profit issue of KP and the federal government is making payment to the province in this regard.
The minister said like other scams, the issue of Panama Papers will also fade out in a matter of few weeks.
He said Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah quoted wrong figures while initiating the budget speech. He urged the opposition to come out well-prepared for taking part in the budget debate. He said the opposition should do constructive criticism.
Pervaiz Malik appreciated the performance of the Finance Ministry for taking proposals from business community before preparing budget. He said a comprehensive package has been given in the budget for development of agriculture sector. He lauded the government for earmarking a huge amount for Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). He pointed out that increase in salaries of the government employees and upgradation of various posts is a good measure.
Ghulam Sarwar Khan said there should be no discrimination in duration of loadshedding for urban and rural areas. He criticised that circular debt is again increasing.
Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui alleged that residence of senior Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Farooq Sattar was besieged on Tuesday in Karachi. He also alleged that MQM was being politically victimised. MQM also staged a token walkout from the House.
Nawab Muhammad Yousuf Talpur in his speech said that agriculture is the backbone of economy and this sector cannot be ignored. He appreciated concessions given on fertilisers. He said sales tax in agriculture sector should be abolished for growth of this sector. He criticised the government for allocating less funds for development in Sindh province. He said the figure of 4.7 per cent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate is incorrect.
Chaudhary Jaffar Iqbal criticised the opposition members for making political statements instead of giving concrete proposals for improving the economy during the budget debates. He said 3600 MWs of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) based electricity will be added in the national grid. He said Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz government believes in practical work for the betterment of the country rather than hollow slogans. He said the government is taking practical steps to eliminate corruption.
Shah Jee Gul Afridi stressed the need for making the Gwadar Port fully operational at the earliest. He appreciated the government for continuing the Benazir Income Support Programme. He said that no project has been given to Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in PSDP. He pointed out that generation of job opportunities for FATA youth are imperative for peace there and beyond. He demanded incentives for setting up industries in FATA.
Shafqat Mahmood alleged that fake and fudged figures have been provided in the budget especially about GDP growth, direct and indirect taxes. He pointed out that PSDP is declining as percentage to GDP. He criticised the government for taking loans.
Tahira Aurangzeb said international financial institutions have acknowledged that economy in Pakistan is improving. She pointed out that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan was elected from NA-56 Rawalpindi but did nothing to solve the problems of the constituency. She congratulated the government for presenting a budget full of relief packages.
