Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has directed the revenue collecting department to achieve their targets so that the scope of development works and poverty alleviation can be ensured.
This he said while presiding over a meeting regarding resource mobilisation here at CM House.
The meeting was attended by Senior Minister ET&NC Sharjeel Memon, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, SMBR Baqaullah Unar, Secretary Finance Fayaz Jatoi, Secretary Excise Saleem Rajput, Secretary to CM Raheem Shaikh, Chairman SRB Wasif Memon, and other concerned officers.
The chief minister emphasised that the government’s priority for the next financial year is to implement policies and initiatives to stimulate economic growth and raise all citizens’ living standards. “Our focus will be on investing in key sectors such as education, healthcare, provision of safe drinking water, sanitation, infrastructure, and agriculture”, he added.
The CM said the priorities would be achieved when the revenue-collecting departments would achieve their revenue targets.
He said that the Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) had a target of Rs235 billion for 2023-24 and the track record of the SRB showed that it had been surpassing its collection targets. He directed Chairman SRB Wasif Memon to reach the target and send him proposals for next year’s targets.
Murad Shah directed the SRB to suggest relief for the taxpayers and proposals for enhancing the SST net for the next financial year. The SRB chairman assured the chief minister that his organisation would reach the target and he would submit his proposals. The CM said that the E&T dept has a target of Rs143 billion and it has to achieve it.
Minister E&T Sharjeel Memon said that he had taken strict measures to achieve the tax collection target and would hopefully, give him good news at the end of June 2024.
The meeting was told that the Board of Revenue has a target of Rs55.218 billion for 2023-24. At this, the CM directed the SMBR to take measures to reach the collection target and send him budget proposals for the next financial year.
Murad Ali Shah directed Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah to revamp the entire collection system of the Board of Revenue. He directed him to make it easy and simple and hold the Assistant Commissioners and Mukhtiarkars responsible for collection.
Talking about ongoing development schemes, the CM said that 5250 ongoing development schemes of Rs380.5 billion were in progress and he would try to complete a maximum number of them during the next financial year.
