Karachi: Education is our first priority while health is on second, law and order is on third besides that local government is our fourth priority said Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Sunday.
Addressing a post budget press conference at Sindh Assembly auditorium, Sye Murad Ali Shah said that the provincial budget centers around rehabilitation of flood affected people and providing social protection to the poor of province.
He said in the over 2.247 trillion rupees budget, over seven hundred billion rupees have been earmarked for development expenditures.
The Chief Minister said the last year’s floods and rains played havoc in the province and the provincial government has been making efforts to complete reconstruction of the damaged houses.
He said that budgets were being presented since 1937 and this was the 59th budget.
He said that the cause of the development in Sindh was only due to the stability in the province adding that the Pakistan People’s Party would bring stability in the country.
He said that the total outlay of the budget estimated for the next financial year 2023-24 was Rs2.25 trillion.
The Chief Minister said that the estimated development budget was over Rs700 billion.
He said that there were four major components of the budget, which included education, health, law and order and local bodies.
He also enumerated a number of schemes and projects for Karachi including K-IV and other projects.
Syed Murad Ali Shah said that they had worked more and more over development side in the ongoing year compared to the previous years and hoped that the next financial year would be much better.
He said that budget for transport & mass transit system and local bodies could be increased as per the requirement.
He said while alluding to JI Karachi Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said that a man shall be crying ‘alone at home’ after June 15, the day when the elections to Mayor of Karachi will take place.
He said the man claimed that they had mandate but on the other hand he denied the holding of the elections.
He said that it was the responsibility of the Sindh government to present the elected local bodies representatives, who were under arrest and facing criminal charges on the day of the election to Mayor of Karachi.
Syed Murad Ali Shah said this would be the first time in the history that their elected local bodies representatives would be serving the people across the province.
He said, ‘It will be our local government in Sindh for the first time.’
