KARACHI-Sindh Assembly on Friday continued the debate on Rs2.2 trillion budget for the fourth consecutive prolonged day as more than a dozen lawmakers from both sides including the ministers took part in the discussion.
The sitting was started at 11:30am and held for over 10 hours. Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s Khawaja Izhar-ul-Hassan said that the provincial government could not impose any new tax as there were no room to do so as it was already collecting too many taxes. He said that it was Pakistan Peoples Party’s 15th consecutive budget, adding that the ruling party presented first budget of Rs267 billion in 2008 of the current streak.
“Now the budget amount had been increased to 900 times than 2008 but the situation of Sindh had not been improved,” he added. The Muttahida MPA said that Rs15,026 billion had been spent by the provincial government in the development sector during the last 15 years, asking the treasury members to see ‘poor’ condition of their constituencies even after expenditure of billions rupees. Izhar said that the Sindh government had set target of Rs3000 million tax collection from agriculturists but it could collect only Rs900 million. “The provincial government is giving Rs500 billion subsidy to agriculturists in different heads and in return receiving nominal taxes,” he said and asked the provincial as if it was spending Rs500 billion in Karachi. 
Syed Abdul Rasheed of MMA also termed the budget a gimmick of numbers and said that the old schemes had not been completed but new schemes were incorporated to influence the upcoming general elections.
He said that the people of Lyari were deprived of portable water.