Opposition decries cut in allocation of key sectors

LAHORE: In a move that can hardly be called surprising, the opposition in Monday’s Punjab Assembly session slammed the provincial budget for Fiscal Year 2017-18.

During a general discussion, the opposition MPAs said the outlay of the budget had failed to benefit the poor.

Opposition leader Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed said billions were reduced in several important sectors compared to last year, adding such a move was regrettable.

There was much pandemonium when opposition leader Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed was forced to sit five times during his speech due to the slogans of legislators of the treasury benches. They vowed to continue disturbing the session in the same way opposition legislators did on budget day.

Fiery speeches were once again the order of the day when Minister for Auqaf and Religious Affairs Zaeem Hussain Qadri stood up and said it was regrettable that opposition legislators continued interrupting Minister for Finance Dr Ayesha Ghaus Pasha’s budget speech.

He also asked the treasury benches to allow the opposition legislators to continue with their speeches.

Meanwhile, Mian Aslam Iqbal of PTI stood up and said the treasury benches were in no position to preach respect for women.



Opposition leader Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed also warned the house that opposition benches would walk out of the general discussion session on the annual budget if treasury legislators failed to hear their issues out.

He told deputy speaker Sardar Sher Ali Gorchani that nobody would come into the house if the treasury benches continued creating pandemonium.

Minister for Law Rana Sanaullah said the treasury benches wanted to promote proper decorum in the house and the opposition should think of doing the same.

Reductions in budget

Opposition leader Mehmood said Rs79.69 billion had been allocated for the education sector in the previous development budget and this figure had been slashed by Rs.12 billion for 2017-18.

Similarly, he added the power and electricity budget saw a decrease of Rs.1billion. He also compared the reduction in the clean drinking water budget which is Rs.24.5 billion for the coming FY against Rs30 billion last year. Mehmood stated the social welfare budget was Rs.1.97 billion in 2016-17 and it had been reduced to Rs.1.10billion.

The one budget which had seen an increase, that too of Rs7 billion was law and order. At the same time, Rasheed said the marked decrease in the energy sector budget was highly regrettable. Pointing to agriculture, the opposition leader said the government lacked a policy related to this sector for nine years. He said Rs.20billion had been allocated in 2016-2017 and only Rs.7.5billion of the amount was spent. He added billions were not utilised and this showed how serious the government was over this most crucial of sectors. He added that even the Rs.21billion allocation for the coming fiscal year was not enough.

Mehmood also said that all the schemes of the administration to create employment had failed. He asked for a definition of employment policies, saying millions of youth were still without jobs.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 6^th, 2017.