‘Open-heart’ large enough to treat K-P patients: Pasha

All Opposition cut motions denied

LAHORE: The Provincial Assembly (PA) on Friday passed 41 grants for the 2016-17 budget.

Of these, two were approved following the submission of cut motions by the Opposition on education and health grants worth Rs61.27 billion and Rs71 billion that were denied. With grants for development and agriculture being approved on Thursday, all 43 grants presented by the government to the tune of Rs1,531 billion were sanctioned.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif made his way to the House as the session was nearing conclusion and participated while voting on grants was underway. Of the six cut motions moved by the Opposition, four were moved. All were denied following two days of debate. Two more cut motions, for police at Rs88.63 billion and for miscellaneous at Rs3.97 billion, were struck down with the termination of the debate.

The approved grants include Rs4.4 billion for land revenue, Rs9.93 billion for jails and convicts’ settlements, Rs12.83 billion for health, Rs65.45 billion for subsidies and Rs78.98 billion for roads and bridges. The debate on a cut motion for health recommenced from where it was left on Thursday. The PML-Q’s Khadija Umar concluded the debate by calling for reducing the grant for the sector.

Finance Minister Ayesha Ghaus Pasha accused the Opposition of presenting fudged figures in response. Defending the grant, she said the government had employed an ingenious approach to revamp the sector’s infrastructure. Pasha said health was a priority, with the development budget being raised by 43 per cent to facilitate the effective implementation of the government’s policy.

The finance minister said tertiary health facilities across Faisalabad, Multan, Lahore and Rawalpindi were being revamped. Taking a swipe at the K-P government, Pasha said the Punjab had an “open-heart” large enough to accommodate patients referred to the province from K-P.

With arguments continuing on education statistics and the PEF performance with reference to the cut motion on the sector, Khadija Umar claimed the Punjab was home to 60 per cent of out-of-school children. The PTI’s Saadia Sohail rapped the government’s policy of merging boys and girls’ schools together across rural areas. This, she said, was to blame for a spike in the number of girls dropping out. The party’s Mian Aslam Iqbal flayed the infinitesimal increase in funds allocated for education.

School Education Minister Rana Mashhood tore through the Opposition’s claims. He said missing facilities had been provided across 90 per cent of schools under a programme initiated in 2010. Of the 30.6 million children in the Punjab, Mashhood said, 23 million were in school. He said the remaining would be enrolled by 2018.

The minister said 5,000 schools that did not have access to the national grid had been equipped with solar installations. He said 70,000 teachers were being inducted. Mashhood said 400,000 instructors would undergo in-service and pre-service teacher training.

The session will recommence on Monday with the Punjab Finance Bill 2016 being considered for passage.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 25^th, 2016.