LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly on Monday approved 43 demands for grants for the financial year 2017-18 and rejected six cut motions presented by the opposition lawmakers.
All the 43 demands for grants worth Rs 1,970 billion and 700 million were approved by the House with an overwhelming majority.
Approval was accorded by the house for sums to be granted to the Punjab governor to meet expenditures regarding education, health, agriculture, industries, general administration, jails, excise, fisheries, civil defence, town development, land revenue, forests, taxes and duties, investment, irrigation, cooperatives, roads, municipality and police.
Earlier, the seventh sitting of the 30th session commenced 49 minutes behind its scheduled time with Deputy Speaker Sardar Sher Ali Gorchani in the chair.
Finance Minister Dr Ayesha Ghous Bukhsh Pasha remained present in the house, while Punjab Ministers Rana Sanaullah, Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan, Sheikh Allauddin, Tahir Khalil Sindhu, Chaudhry Sher Ali Khan also attended the sitting.
Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif was also present in the House.
The chair allowed eight lawmakers to speak on the cut motions on education and health sectors.
Rejecting the objections of the opposition on demand for grants regarding education, Minister Rana Mashhood said that the government had taken revolutionary steps for promotion of education in the province. He said that hefty allocations for education sector would help attain 100 per cent literacy rate by the year 2020. He said that a sizeable number of additional classrooms would be built during the current financial year.
Members from both treasury and opposition benches took part in the discussion on the demand for grants for education and health services sectors.
The combined opposition staged a protest to press for their demands.
On completion of day’s agenda, the chair adjourned the session till Tuesday at 11 am.
