Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has assured Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah of resolving the at-source deduction issue “amicably”.
He said this during a meeting with him at the CM House in Karachi on Saturday. The assurances came from Aurangzeb when Murad shared the provincial issues with him.
The Sindh CM pointed out that his government has always paid its electricity bills on time, and if any outstanding bills needed to be reconciled, the federal government should have brought the issue to their attention instead of making at-source deductions.
The FBR after reading a news item of the cars registered in Sindh from 1948 to 2015 had deducted Rs6 billion of the province at source, he said and added that despite the resolution of the issue still the amount has not been refunded.
Finance Minister Aurangzeb told the chief minister that he was working to develop a proper professional working relationship between the federal and provincial organisations. “The federal and provincial organizations and institutions have to work together, learn from each other’s expertise, support each other for growth and cooperate for collective uplift and development,” he said.
The CM and the federal finance minister also discussed the price escalation of industrial gas. The chief minister said that the industrialists were quite upset with the increase in industrial gas prices.
The finance minister said that during his meeting with the industrialists, they also complained to him about the same issue. Therefore, they agreed to discuss the matter with the federal petroleum minister to resolve the issue.
Murad went on to add that in the federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), the provincial government has not been given any new scheme for the last eight years. Compared to Sindh, the other provinces have been given new schemes in the federal PSDP.
Aurangzeb and Shah agreed that the issue of PSDP’s new schemes would be discussed with the federal planning minister.
It was also agreed that the federal and provincial governments would work together to develop the agriculture sector on scientific and modern methods. It was pointed out that there was ample potential to cultivate export-quality crops, vegetables, fruits, and dairy products so that they could be exported to earn foreign exchange.
The CM added that he was working to introduce new technologies to improve crop yield and measures being taken to ensure the provision of certified seed in the market.
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Discussing the reconstruction of flood-devastated infrastructure, the CM said that houses, school buildings, and roads were being reconstructed. He said that the donor agencies have extended a helping hand in the reconstruction of flood-affected infrastructure, but the funds have not trickled down as was pledged by the international community.
The two also agreed to attract foreign investment in different sectors for which investment procedures would be made simple and automated.
The federal finance minister appreciated the Sindh CM’s efforts in establishing one of the best public-private partnership units. He said that the provincial government has evolved an effective public-private partnership in Sindh and its fruits are being reaped by the public and the private partners.
