Funds utilisation up 94 percent: Dareshak

Punjab Finance Minister Hasnain Bahadur Dareshak apprising the Provincial Assembly in general discussion on proposed budget 2007-08 here on Wednesday said that the provincial government had increased 94 percent of its funds utilisation.
On the occasion he conceded that there was inflation and most affected areas in that respect were food items where its impact was the most, he averred. The minister said they were taking measures in that respect.
The Finance Minister stated that present government in fiscal year 2006-07 had created employment opportunities to the tune of 1.4 million. He said when they came into power poverty line stood at 43 percent while in the fiscal year 2006-07 it had been reduced to the level of 20 percent.
Dareshak aid 15 million people remained under the poverty line figure in the province for which the government was making all endeavours to bring the level down.
Appreciating the exemplary role of President Pervez Musharraf for the alleviation of poverty he said that provincial government had also made efforts in the same direction, which had started giving results now, he pointed.
Dareshak speaking about debt responsibility of the provincial government said that total debt figure which it had to pay now remained at Rs 266 billion. The minister assured the House that provincial government would make no different yardstick in applying development funds in sectors of health, education, agriculture in Punjab.
The minister categorically denied of application of Road User Tax in the Province and said that its news was misquoted in the press. The minister speaking about the provincial government measures to give residences to government servants said that 22,000 plots incurring cost of Rs 5 billion had been bought and delivery of houses in certain categories would commence soon. He told the House that government had increased grants for backward areas in the Province.
Talking about utility stores, the minister said on July 1,2006 there were 274 utility stores out of which 161 were in urban and 113 in rural areas of the province. He said 2,500 new stores would come up in Punjab in the next few months.
Provincial Finance Minister congratulated opposition as well as Treasury benches for presentation of five-consecutive budgets and said it was a great achievement of the present leadership for having this goal realised.
Earlier, Rana Sana Ullah Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Assembly in his suggestion in the House on proposed budget 2007-08 asked the provincial government to make reductions in funds of general administration and said that government had made an increase of Rs 22 billion in this regard. The opposition leader also raised objections with regard to Rs 1.38 billion expenditure regarding the CM Secretariat and Punjab Governor House.