Summary Urges political unity for development and prosperity
KARACHI (Dunya News) - Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon has said due to economic difficulties, all provinces had to cut development budgets, however, the Sindh government always prioritised the national interest and continued public welfare projects.
The minister said that all political forces must unite for the development of Sindh because a strong and developed Sindh is the guarantee of a strong Pakistan.
Addressing the budget session in the Sindh Assembly, Sharjeel Inam Memon said that Sindh is the first province where the Journalist Protection Commission and the Sindh Information Commission were established to protect journalists. He stressed that verification is necessary before publishing news.
He said that the Sindh government is using artificial intelligence (AI) for media monitoring, while steps have also been taken to promote the film and drama industry.
Sharjeel Memon said that more than 4.8 million people have visited the iWork for Sindh platform launched by Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, and more than 113,000 people have registered.
Talking about the transport sector, he said that work is underway on the Yellow Line and Red Line BRT projects, the Orange Line BRT was completed by the Sindh government.
He said that more than 125,000 citizens are benefiting from the People's Bus Service every day and this service has spread to Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Sukkur, Larkana, Shikarpur, Khairpur and Tando Allahyar.
He said that Pakistan's first electric (EV) bus was introduced by the Sindh government, while EV taxi and pink taxi projects for women will also be launched soon.
Sharjeel Inam Memon said that the Pink Scooty Scheme was introduced to empower women. According to him, at the beginning of the project, only 150 women had motorcycle driving licences, while now 25,000 women have obtained licences and the target has been set to provide licenses to one hundred thousand women in the future.
He praised the performance of the Sindh Revenue Board (SRB), saying that the growth of SRB is 24 percent, which is much higher than the 10 percent growth of FBR. With only 368 employees, SRB is achieving its revenue targets.
The provincial minister said that the Sindh government has built 3,114 kilometers of roads, 97,000 teachers have been recruited on merit and not a single allegation of recommendation or irregularity has been made in these recruitments.
Sharjeel Memon said that the Thar Coal Project is playing an important role in meeting Pakistan's energy needs and currently 3960 MW of electricity is being added to the national grid. According to him, the Sindh government spent one billion dollars on this project, which proved beneficial for the entire Pakistan.
He said that the construction of 2.1 million houses for flood victims is the world's largest housing project, which will benefit about 22 percent of Sindh's population. He said that the audit and transparency of this project have also been recognized by the World Bank, Pakistan Army and various international donor organizations.
The provincial minister said that no patient is discriminated against on the basis of identity card or residence for treatment in government hospitals in Sindh.
