ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib on Monday said that Prime Minister Imran Khan was taking practical measures to ensure sustainable development in the country by providing level-playing field to each federating unit.
“Imran Khan desires all-encompassing development as he is prime minister of entire country including Sindh,” Farrukh said in a news statement while pointing out special allocations for socioeconomic uplift of different federating units in the federal budget for fiscal year 2021-22 (FY22).
He said the federal government had earmarked Rs98 billion for Karachi Transmission Plan (KTP), Rs40 billion for development of Gilgit Baltistan (GB), Rs20 billion for South Balochistan and Rs19.5 billion for the uplift of 14 districts of Sindh, adding that the special packages were meant to remove resources’ disparity among various areas of the country.
Farrukh regarded the prime minister’s special package of Rs446 billion for socioeconomic development of 14 underdeveloped districts of Sindh as a ‘gift’. The districts include Badin, Hyderabad, Larkana, Tandoyar, Dadu, Jacobabad, Mirpur Khas, Tando Muhammad Khan and Ghotki.
“The completion of those socioeconomic projects would mark a new era of development in Khairpur, Naushahro Feroze, Sanghar, Shikarpur and Sukkur,” he said.
The minister said the provincial share from the federal divisible pool would increase to Rs3.41 trillion in the next fiscal year with an increase of 25 per cent.
He said the provincial government was not paying heed to the province’s long standing issues.
