The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet has approved proposals submitted by the Ministry of Industries & Production for payment of salaries to the employees of Pakistan Machine Tool Factory (PMTF) and Pakistan Steel Mill (PSM) as well as a proposal of the Power Division for payment of electricity charges by the Government of Sindh as Thar subsidy for 4,514 domestic consumers of Taluka Islamkot.
The decisions were taken at a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet held at the Cabinet Block on Wednesday with Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance & Revenue, in the chair. The ECC directed the Finance Division to release one month’s salary amounting to Rs 355 million for the month of June to the PSM employees and further authorise it to arrange for payment of projected net salary of Rs 4,097 million to the PSM employees for the Financial Year 2019-20 to be disbursed every month to PSM.
Similarly, the ECC approved a proposal for payment of Rs 128 million for the salaries for the month of February to May 2019 to the employees of the Pakistan Machine Tool Factory and directed the Ministry of Industries and Production to hold a meeting with the Strategic Plan Division, Commerce Division, Sindh Building Control & Sindh Revenue Control to finalise a plan to hand over the PMTF to the SPD after clearance of all liabilities. On another summary submitted by the Power Division, the ECC approved the proposal for reflection in electricity bills of a subsidy by the Government of Sindh for 4514 consumers of Taluka Islamkot in terms of payment of all charges of consumers using 100 or lesser units of electricity on actual charges as well as a flat subsidy of Rs 800 to be given to domestic consumers using more than 100 units.
The meeting decided that in case the Government of Sindh failed to pay the subsidy in any future situation for a period of three months, the same amount be deducted at source by the federal government. The ECC, on a summary submitted by the Ministry of Energy, also approved a proposal for budgetary allocation on annual basis for payment to Asia Petroleum Limited (APL) through Pakistan State Oil under a technical supplementary grant from the current financial year and onwards against accumulating shortfall in guaranteed throughput due to reduced demand in refined furnace oil by HUBCO, and asked the Ministry of Energy to take quick remedial measures for offsetting the accumulating shortfall by engaging local refineries for using APL’s network as reverse pipeline until the contractual obligation ending in 2027.
The ECC, on a summary submitted by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, also approved a proposal regarding necessary amendments & exemptions in Income Tax Ordinance, Sales Tax Act and Custom Act for the Gwadar Port and Gwadar Free Zone and asked the Law Division to suggest a way forward for their implementation and bring it up in the next Cabinet meeting in consultation with the Commerce Division, Planning Division, Maritime Division, Federal Board of Revenue and Board of Investment.
