LAHORE – The Punjab government is facing a deficit of Rs 136 billion owing to gross financial indiscipline in the province. “Of the outstanding amount, Rs 51 billion have been converted into a loan, while another Rs 37 billion have been obtained from the State Bank of Pakistan to run the government’s affairs,” PPP’s former Punjab finance minister Tanvir Ashraf Kaira said on Thursday while exposing the ill practices of the Punjab government during the last three years.
Talking to reporters at the Lahore Press Club, Kaira said there were Rs 7.2 billion surplus resources in the treasury when the present government took administrative control of Punjab in 2008, but Shahbaz Sharif’s government initiated a new course of financial mismanagement to benefit PML-N supporters and leaders. To support his claims, Kaira said programmes launched by the chief minister to garner public support had raised the budget deficit to Rs 42 billion by June 2009. He said the Sasti Roti Scheme, Sasta Atta Scheme and Food Support Programme had been a complete failure.
He said the budget Punjab government was Rs 304 billion in debt in 2008-09, which escalated to Rs 440 billion in 2009-10. This was despite the fact that the Punjab government received an additional Rs 100 billion from federal government per the National Finance Commission Award. Kaira said the provincial government did not seriously attempt to launch revenue generation moves or tax enhancing steps that resulted in a visible decline in revenue.
In 2008-09, the revenue generation target was set at Rs 40 billion against which only Rs 28 billion could be collected, while only Rs 36 billion were collected against a target of Rs 50 billion in 2009-10. He held Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif responsible for all the corruption in Punjab. Kaira said Transparency International reports head revealed that 8 of the 10 most corrupt departments in Pakistan were in Punjab, where 50 percent of Annual Development Fund went waste in terms of commissions and kick backs.
He vowed to continue unearthing PML-N’s malpractices, adding that Shahbaz should stop patronising lotas in the Punjab Assembly. To a question about tabling a no-confidence motion against Shahbaz, he said the PPP did not intend to do so and would provide an opportunity to the PML-N to complete its tenure.
Kaira said a majority of Punjab’s annual development fund had been used up in the constituencies of PML-Q Unification Bloc MPAs in order to accommodate lotas.
