Newly-appointed Punjab Finance Minister Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman, who also holds the portfolio of Excise and Taxation Department, termed the provincial budget for fiscal year 2012-13 “pro-poor and youth specific” at a media briefing on Sunday.
Punjab CM’s Senior Adviser Zulfiqar Khosa, P&D Chairman Javed Aslam and Finance Secretary Tariq Bajwa also accompanied the minister to rescue him from any odd queries by the media.
The Punjab finance minister opened the press conference by repeating his budget speech.
He said Rs 10 billion had been proposed for the energy sector and that the government had chalked out a comprehensive policy for initiation of up to 50mw coal-fired projects of power generation at six places, besides establishing an energy fund to provide incentives to investors of the projects.
“The government in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank has initiated a programme for power plants installation on canals and feasibility reports of 10 projects has been completed at a cost of Rs 29 billion and they will generate 80mw, while the feasibility report of a 120mw hydel power project at the Taunsa Barrage has also been completed,” he added.
The finance minister said the government would also provide Rs 15 billion for youth-specific programmes which entailed Rs 2 billion for the provision of 20,000 tractors at subsidized rates under the green tractor scheme for youth of the agriculture sector and Rs 500 million for newly graduated youth, who would be given four-month internship in various provincial departments at Rs 10,000 per month stipend.
He said that 125,000 more students would be given laptops worth Rs 4 billion during the fiscal year 2012-13 and Rs 500 million for continuation of youth festivals to be held from UC to provincial level.
Mentioning another component of the budget speech, Mujtaba said the government had also proposed a sum of Rs 34 billion for public subsidy in FY 2012-13, out of which Rs 27.5 billion would go to maintain wheat flour prices, Rs 4 billion to balance prices of daily-use items during Ramazan, Rs 2 billion for improved public transport facilities, Rs 1 billion for the provision of solar panels to poor families in urban and rural areas to provide them relief from power outages.
To a question about motor vehicles’ lifetime token tax, the finance minister was unable to give any facts and figures about the matter, however, the finance secretary jumped in to his help and explained that new cars would be charged one time token tax while old vehicles would be given life token after payment of outstanding tax by respective owners under a prescribed table of tax rates.
Budget to ensure prosperity in province, says Mashhood
Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan on Sunday said the Punjab government, through the budget, would ensure massive development in the province besides bringing prosperity to the poor. He claimed the government won hearts of the masses by presenting a people-friendly budget. “The budget covers almost all areas as huge allocations are made for vital sectors like education, health, transport, roads etc., while a sum of Rs 10 billion has been earmarked to cope with the energy crisis,” he added. He said a comprehensive policy had also been evolved for the coal-fired power generation projects of upto 500mw at six places to provide uninterrupted electricity to the industrial estates in Punjab. To a query Mashhood replied that special incentives would be given for installation of power plants in the private sector, and to materalise this purpose an energy fund was being set up so that timely payments could be made to power plants set up in the private sector. He maintained that the government was working on alternative and renewable projects of power generation. He said the allegations that the opposition parties were not consulted for the preparation of the budget were baseless.
