KARACHI: The Sindh government will likely announce a relief package for senior citizens in the upcoming provincial budget for the year 2021-22, citing sources. The government will announce the issuance of the ‘Senior Citizen Azadi Card’ to the province’s elderly citizens. Around 300 million rupees allocation is proposed for the Senior Citizen Azadi Card in the 2021-22 budget. The citizens having 60 or above age will be entitled for the issuance of the welfare card. Sources said that the Sindh government will sign an agreement with NADRA for issuance of Azadi Card to senior citizens of Sindh. Separately, the provincial government will allocate Rs150 million for Darul Aman and Rs500 million for old age homes. The budget proposals also included 20 percent increment in salaries of the government employees, while 20 pct increase in pensions is also expected in the new Sindh budget. The salaries also expected to be enhanced according to the pay scales of the employees. The Sindh government has also decided to allocate more than Rs3 billion for the purchase of new buses in Karachi in the provincial budget. Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah, who holds the portfolio of provincial finance minister as well, will present on June 15 the provincial budget in Sindh Assembly for the fiscal year 2021-22.
