Punjab Assembly: Education, healthcare top lawmakers’ priorities

Resolution containing recommendations for next year’s budget passed.

LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly on Monday passed a resolution containing lawmakers’ recommendations for the budget of the next fiscal year.

The resolution proposed that steps should be taken to improve basic education and healthcare facilities and upgrade the existing infrastructure. It also proposed measures for agricultural development, equitable distribution of development funds, identifying new projects to overcome the energy crisis, and initiating special programmes for promotion of women’s rights.

The resolution called for an increase in development funds for impoverished areas, allocation of funds to overcome regional inequality, improvement of police’s performance, reforms in judicial system, greater role for parliamentarians in identification and implementation of development projects.

The lawmakers also wanted small and medium enterprises status for finished projects in education and health sector, rehabilitation of infrastructure in flood-affected areas, allocation of funds for renovation and repair of roads and canal system and for roads connecting farms to markets, improvement of public transport system in five big cities, provision of fertiliser and seed to deserving farmers on subsidised rates, education and employment opportunities for youth in technical sector

It further proposed that an effective system should be devised for timely completion of development schemes, reforms in tax collection system, improvements in the infrastructure along side the construction of Daanish schools, reduction in inflation, poverty and non-developmental expenditures.

Question hour:

In written responses to lawmakers’ queries, Minister for Minorities’ Affairs Kamran Michael said there were 143 vacancies in the Social Welfare Department. He said the total jobs in the departmnent were 4,013.

He said the department was annually assisting 32,808 people under its gender action programme (GrAP).

In 2010, he said, the department allocated Rs3 million for research. Rs40 million and Rs50 million were allocated in the years 2008 and 2009 respectively. He said Rs38.8 million and Rs44.43 million were spent respectively.

Michael said the department reserved Rs50 million in 2008-09 for the development of women. It conducted several workshops and training programmes in this regard, he added.

He said the department was responsible for certifying the disabled people’s needs not for getting them jobs. He added that there was a job quota for the disabled people in all government departments.

Michael failed to respond to the questions raised by Chaudary Asad, Sardar Khalid, Saeed Akhtar Khan, Sajida Mir and Khadija Umer in a satisfactory manner. Speaker Rana Iqbal instructed him to come up with complete and correct answers.

Uzma Bokhari condemned alleged beating of a journalist, Hasan Iftikhar, at police’s hands. She said the police only beat up students, teachers, and journalists.

She said while Law Minister Rana Sanaullah was himself a teacher he had yet to take any steps for changing the police culture.

Sanaullah said that he had ordered an inquiry into the matter. He said he would take action in the light of the inquiry findings.

Sanaullah also said the police officials had sacrificed the most in the war against terrorism. He said 265 policemen had died so far in terrorism attacks in the province.

He added that though peaceful protest was the right of every citizen sometimes the police had to take action to maintain law and order.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25^th, 2011.