Punjab to spend Rs200b on development

P&D Board directs departments to utilise funds on priority basis

LAHORE:

The administration of Punjab, the country’s biggest province, is spending billions of rupees in different development schemes these days in a bid to clear the backlog of various infrastructure schemes.

The provincial government had been facing criticism for not spending much on the infrastructure of the province.

As general elections approach fast, work on different schemes has increased rapidly. This has become evident as the province has committed to utilise funds worth Rs200 billion in the current month – January 2022.

“We have targeted all provincial departments and ensured that they use their development funds on different schemes,” Planning and Development (P&D) Board Punjab Chairman Abdullah Khan Sumbal said on Wednesday. “We will ensure utilisation of Rs200 billion in the month of January 2022.”

Talking to the journalists, he revealed that the total budget of Punjab had increased from Rs560 billion to Rs646 billion, “which is the biggest development budget of Punjab in history”.

“Around Rs170 billion have been spent on various development projects so far,” he added.

The board has released Rs104 billion for new schemes, out of which Rs49 billion have been spent, he underlined, adding that the board’s health sector had released Rs60 billion so far.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13^th, 2022.

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