Civic spending: Allocation for roads overshadows most civic projects

Pakistan Kissan Ittehad president says this might not help farmers as there are other issues which affect them more


Shahram Haq June 13, 2015
PHOTO: FILE

LAHORE:


Civic spending programmes including urban development, roads network, water supply and sanitation, and the transport sector have been allocated Rs146 billion in the budget.  


The allocations mean to provide key missing facilities, however, several stakeholders say that it skates over core issues the public faces.

Under the Rs69 billion-road development programme, Rs52 billion has been earmarked for the Khadm-i-Punjab rural road programme.  Of this, Rs26 billion has been allocated for south Punjab. The idea is to link the rural economy with markets to facilitate farmers so they could get better prices for their products.

Pakistan Kissan Ittehad president Khalid Mahmood says this might not help farmers as there are other issues which affect them more. These include being paid less than the support price set by the government for their produce and close to zero subsidies.

The government has allocated Rs40.8 billion to complete 600 on-going schemes, including 255 projects under rural roads program phase I. Apart from this, the government is also planning to construct circumferential roads in urban centres to reduce traffic on the roads.



The allocation of Rs24 billion for water supply and sanitation has been allocated for on-going and new schemes under the Punjab Drinking Water Policy. Last year’s budget had an allocation of Rs15.6 billion for 766 schemes, of which 204 schemes will be completed towards the end of June 2015.

For the ADP, around 933 schemes have been included, out of which, 498 schemes are likely to be completed by the end of the next financial year.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13th, 2015.

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