Finance minister pledgesoutcome-oriented planning

LAHORE: Promising regional equalisation in the province, Punjab Finance Minister Makhdum Hashim Jawan Bakht has said the government will not ignore any area and ensure an outcome oriented planning.

Speaking on the floor of Punjab Assembly while delivering in winding up speech during the ongoing post-budget session, the minister said like southern Punjab districts, in other areas where development was needed, all required measures would be taken by the government.

He assured that uniform treatment would be meted out with all the districts of Punjab, whether they were the part of the southern belt or others. Citing a recent research by Human Development Index, the finance minister told the House that in the sector of human development, Pakistan’s position had declined which was a matter of concern. “We should accept this harsh reality that we are a developing nation, social development should be our priority,” Makhdum Hashim said, who was elected from district Rahimyar Khan for the second term in July 25 elections.

He said all those members who had floated their proposals during the debate on budget had unanimously raised voice for improvement in health, education, agricultural sectors and steps would be taken by the government on priority to address challenges faced in these areas. He said while keeping in view the significance of social sector, the Punjab government had paid special focus towards health, education and trade.

For Small and Medium Enterprises (SEM), Hashim Jawan Bakht said special package had been allocated for the trades which suffered loss in order to ensure investment in the province.

The minister expressed regret over the attitude of the opposition and stated that a part of the House which also represented a big population of Punjab had completely ignored such an important discussion. “Neither they delivered as the government nor they are aware of the role of opposition,” he said while criticising the PML-N which continued its boycott of the PA session during the ongoing session.

On the instructions of Punjab Assembly Speaker Ch Pervaiz Elahi, a committee was constituted on Wednesday to probe facts as to why work was discontinued on the projects initiated in the era of PML-Q and investigate costs on the projects initiated by former chief minister Shahbaz Sharif.

The 12-member committee announced by Law Minister Raja Basharat included the law minister himself, Ch Zaheer-ud-din, Hashim Jawan Bakht, Muneeb Sultan Cheema, Ch Sajid Mehmood, Sardar Asif Nakai, Zainab Umer, Khadija Farooqi, Zafar Iqbal and others. The committee would probe facts as to why the projects like Wazirabad Institute of Cardiology, Mayo Hospital Surgical Tower and others were delayed. The committee was also constituted to probe delay in Clean Drinking Water project for Murree.