Treasury MPAs approve Punjab budget

The provincial government got approved its budget for the year 2022-23 in a Punjab Assembly session held in absence of the opposition on Wednesday.

The budget session held at Aiwan-e-Iqbal also passed 40 demands for grant of over Rs2.73 trillion with no cut motion from the opposition that is holding a parallel session at the Punjab Assembly building.

PML-N’s Sardar Awais Laghari, who has been notified by Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz Sharif to deal with finance-related matters, concluded the general discussion on the annual budget.

He claimed that everyone would see Punjab in a better condition than that left by the PTI’s former CM Sardar Usman Buzdar. Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz also attended the session. Laghari welcomed the suggestions given by the lawmakers and thanked the lawmakers who highlighted the core issues. He assured the house of leaving no stone unturned to ameliorate the condition of the poor.

He said no doubt the province was passing through a critical phase, “but we will make all out efforts to put it on the right track”.

He said the sectors which had been ruined due to flawed policies of the previous government would be uplifted.

He said CM Hamza would ensure the access to medical treatment of the middle class through the health card, but the practice of looting the poor in the garb of Sehat Card would be put to an end.

The PML-N government will meet the international standard in road infrastructure that had been neglected during the PTI rule, he added. Laghari said the people would be given relief in electricity bills through green energy.

He said the province was facing many challenges and collective efforts were needed to pull it out from the current imbroglio. Over Rs20 billion worth of interest-free loans will be given to the people, he added. “We will provide relief at doorsteps of the poor; work during day and night is required to meet the challenges and you will see the PML-N doing it,” he maintained.

Read Budget debate marred by MPAs’ disinterest

After Sardar Awias Laghari concluded his speech, Khalil Tahir Sindhu from the Panel of Chairmen, who was presiding over the session, said that although announcements had been made inviting the opposition to submit cut motions in the budget session, no lawmaker from the opposition had done so.

He started the proceedings for approval of the demands for grant, which were passed one by one. The way was cleared for smooth sailing for the PML-N government in the budget session owing to the absence of the opposition, which is holding its own parallel assembly session. The opposition has termed the government’ budget session illegal.

In previous years, the opposition often created pandemonium and obstructed the governments in presenting or getting approved the budget.

The Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly, Sibtain Khan had said a day earlier that the government had tried to evade accountability by implicating PTI leaders in cases and presenting the budget outside the premises of the legislature. He alleged that the rulers were afraid that the opposition would scrutinise its budget, so they had held a separate sitting at Aiwan-e-Iqbal. He said the opposition had been denied the opportunity to present cut motions and the budget was being passed unilaterally.

On the other hand, PML-N leader Azma Bukhari had contended the governor had issued a notification regarding the assembly session.