It is a government’s basic responsibility to provide people with facilities and make the right planning for it. The budget is a window to the government’s development and welfare preferences for the masses. Only the budget shows to what extent a government is serious in providing people the rudimentary necessities of everyday life.
The Punjab government presented its fifth budget in the Punjab Assembly. Being pro-people, balanced and tax-free, the total outlay of the budget is Rs782.8 billion. Presenting the budget, Finance Minister Punjab, Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman, announced the Development Policy for the next fiscal year. The budget includes policies and projects that ensure welfare of the masses, greatly improving their standard of life. Execution of these development policies in the new budget will usher in an entirely new era of prosperity in the province.
The common man has not been burdened by the budget in any way, rather measures have been taken for providing him relief. A record-breaking development plan of Rs 250 billion has been earmarked. Substantial amounts of funds have been allocated for less developed areas. Sound steps have been taken for the progress and welfare of women and employment generation for the youth. Projects have been proposed in the budget for the betterment of the downtrodden in the society. Projects to give relief to the common man, such as Ashiana Housing Scheme, Educational Endowment Fund, Interest-free loans for the jobless youth, and Daanish School will continue to help the common man. Adequate funds have been allocated for these projects. By presenting the welfare-oriented, balanced, and tax-free budget, the Punjab government has proved that PML-N’s sole aim is welfare of the masses. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif deserves accolades for presenting this budget. An example has been set for the federal government and other provinces by cutting salaries of provincial ministers and members of the Punjab Assembly. By appropriating Rs80 billion for South Punjab, the government has shifted its focus towards less-developed areas. This is enough to silence those critics that indulge in the baseless propaganda that funds are not spent in South Punjab. The amount set aside for South Punjab is 32 percent of the total budget. About Rs14 billion have been set aside for women’s welfare in the new budget. Under the Laptop Scheme, promising students will be provided another batch of one lakh 25 thousand laptops worth Rs4 billion. Eight Danish Schools are being constructed in Vihari, Layyah, Lodhran, and Bhakkar districts with an amount of Rs 2 billion. All educational institutions charging fee exceeding Rs. 5000/- will reserve 10% seats for the poor but promising students.
The budget proposes Rs 34 billion for implementing pro-poor schemes. The completion of education, health, and infrastructure projects will enable speedy progress in this field. A number of welfare projects for the youth have also been started under this budget. The Internship Programme of Rs 10 thousand per month for 50 thousand graduates is a revolutionary step through which the youth will get the chance of getting professional training. The announcement of 80 thousand new jobs will also benefit the youth of the province and decrease the level of unemployment. The plan to end loadshedding presented by the Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif is a big step towards industrial development and prosperity of the common man. The Punjab government has presented a sound programme and projects to get rid of loadshedding. A sum of Rs 10 billion has been allocated for tackling the energy crisis in the new budget. The Punjab government has devised a comprehensive and effective plan of setting up coal-fired power stations of upto 500MW at six locations to give uninterrupted power supply to the industries located in the Industrial Estates. The private sector will be given ample incentives to construct power plants. An energy fund is being set up under which prompt payments will be possible to power plants built in the private sector. The Punjab government is also working on the alternative and renewable forms of energy. A special department for this purpose will be established in the University of Engineering and Technology. The Punjab government had earlier set aside Rs 9 billion but the amount could not increase energy output considerably due to negative approach of the federal government. Another important characteristic of the Punjab budget is the announcement of the Chief Minister to increase the pay cut in the salary of the Punjab cabinet from 25 percent to 30 percent. It has been decided to continue the tradition of the chief minister paying from his own pocket for his entourage on foreign visits. This practice will further promote the culture of simplicity. The government of Punjab has proposed revolutionary steps in the budget for ensuring availability of comfortable and quality commuting. For this purpose, it has set aside Rs 11 billion. The government will import 1200 new buses during the next year. The Punjab government has continued the pro-people policy by allocating Rs 5 billion for providing them free medicines in government hospitals. Rs 84 billion have been allocated in the new budget for the health sector as compared with 72 billion in the previous budget. That will further improve conditions in the health sector. The Punjab Chief Minister has not ignored the agony of the kidney patients in the new budget. In the next year, another Rs30 crore will be spent for free dialysis, which is a great relief to the kidney patients. The Punjab Budget 2012-2013 can be regarded as balanced under the current circumstances because it gives concessions to people with limited resources while employees’ salaries and retired people’s pensions have been increased. Funds have been allocated in the social sector so that the common man has access to safe drinking water, gas, electricity, and other basic necessities of life. Development projects will be completed this year under the new budget and poor people will be provided important facilities. The Punjab government deserves ample praise for presenting a pro-people budget of Rs 782 billion and this has been made possible by the untiring efforts of the Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif. If the federal government brings the looted money from Swiss Banks back into Pakistan, it will not only improve the budget but will also result in more development work, employment generation, and bigger allocations for improving standard of life of the common man. It is the objective of the budget to strike a balance between earning and spending so that the common man gets the much talked about relief. By allocating sufficient amounts in health and education sectors the government has proved that it believes in the service to the people. The Punjab budget 2012-2013 is a true reflection of the people’s desires. To keep the price of flour stable, Rs27 billion and 50 crore have been allocated while Rs 4 billion have been spared as subsidy during the holy month of Ramazan. These steps are surely good news for the common man.
