Punjab budget reflects PTI's vision: PAC chief

Chairman Public Accounts Committee Punjab Syed Yawar Abbas Bukhari has said that the PTI-led coalition government has given Rs 233 billion surplus budget to a province which is under debt of Rs 2600 billion. He expressed these views during a general discussion in the Punjab Assembly on annual budget 2019-20 on Tuesday. He said that Punjab budget is reflection of the PTI's vision which focuses on human development. The government has allocated funds for the establishment of six universities in the province.
He said the PTI government has allocated funds for 200-bed hospital in Attock. He demanded that district Attock should again be included in the list of under-developed districts. He said previous PML- N government had put Attock in the list of developed areas due to which students of this district were not getting scholarships.
Bukhari said price of dollar increased because of the wrong policies of the PML-N government. During their tenure, trade deficit increased and as a result gap was created between demand and supply of dollar. He admitted that people are suffering from price hike but we should think above the party for solution of our problems.
Speaking on the floor of House, PML-N MPA Awais Laghari said that the PTI government failed to provide relief to the people. It also failed to fulfill all its promises of providing relief in 100 days and making of South Punjab a province. He requested the speaker to link their support for passage of budget with the creation of Bahawalpur and South Punjab province. He said in new Pakistan farmers were exploited at the hands of sugar mills mafia. The government had done nothing for enhancing the water storage capacity. PML-N MPA Safdar Shakir gave the suggestion that the government should constitute a committee to calculate the exact price of cost of production of any crop for announcing the support price of that crop.
Parliamentary leader Rah-e-Haq Party Muawiya Azam Tariq congratulated the government for presenting a growth-led budget. He demanded that the government should allocate funds for all districts as it allocated funds for DG Khan which is the home district of chief minister Punjab. He also demanded that the government should allocate more funds for University of Jhang, a hospital and civic facilities in the district.