‘Growing population decreasing food’

LAHORE
PROVINCIAL Minister for Law, Excise & Taxation and Finance Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman has said that increasing population affects our socio-economic conditions also as 40 million people are living below the poverty line, 58 million people have no access to safe and clean drinking water and 59 million people are living in one room house unit whereas only 20 percent population has the facility of trained birth attendant.
According to a handout issued on Thursday, the minister, while talking to various delegations at his residence, said that increasing population was deeply decreasing our food stocks and now about 70.7 million people were facing starvation in the world whereas every 6th person in the developing country was the victim of lack of food. He said that in result of the government economic policies and current fiscal year’s budget, job opportunities would be offered to 40 lakh people whereas 20 lakh people would be provided technical training so as to make them self-sufficient. He said the Punjab government wanted to upgrade the growth rate of the province by eight percent till next four years and in result of it more than 70 lakh people would be able to live above the poverty line.
The minister added that Rs. 121.80 billion, which was 11.66 percent of the total budget, was being utilised on the provision of health facilities whereas Rs. 274 billion had been provided which was 26.25 percent of the total budget and Rs. 1.50 billion was being spent on the population welfare programmes. He said that to provide civic amenities to every citizen of the country we had to control the rapidly growing population, therefore a comprehensive awareness campaign would be launched in the province.