Punjab Budget Falls to Pieces in Giving Relief to Commoners
An estimated total budget outlay of Rs 2.653 trillion has been approved by the Punjab government
As Punjab Finance Minister Hashim Jawan Bakht presented PTI’s fourth provincial budget for financial year 2021-22, commoners and opposition reckon that it would not usher relief.
An estimated total budget of Rs 2.653 trillion, including Rs 560 billion for the Annual Development Program (ADP) has been approved by the Punjab government.
Following the budget’s details, the government has allocated over Rs 200 billion for the social sector, including health and education sectors and Rs 145 billion for infrastructure development.
Moreover, Rs 55 billion is dedicated for production sectors including agriculture, industry, tourism, wildlife, fisheries, forest, and more than Rs 90 billion for special programs.
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The provincial finance minister said that no new tax has been imposed in the annual budget.
There is a relief package worth Rs 40 billion for traders affected by a coronavirus, whereas Rs 6.5 billion has been earmarked for the Insaf Afternoon Schools program.
If the Punjab budget would help to bring change in the lives of commoners, News360 carried out a survey and talked to the residents of Lahore.
While talking to News360, most of the people sounded dissatisfied by the budget and expressed that it would not bring down prices of daily-use commodities let alone their utility bills.
The opposition members also shared their concerns over the budget.
During the budget speech in the House, opposition parties protested and their leader in the assembly Hamza Shahbaz termed the budget as an ‘enemy’ as no relief has been given to the citizens.
Further, he demanded an increase of 20% in salaries of government employees instead of 10%.
Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Sardar Usman Bazdar remarked the budget as ‘historic’ and said that the opposition’s protest was inappropriate.
