Poverty-hit families: Rs 100 billion must be provided to give relief

Speakers at a roundtable organised by Pakistan Institute of National Affairs (Pina) here called upon the government that general public should be given top priority in the forthcoming budget proposals and the national resources be spent on the well-being of poor segments of the society.
"At least Rs 100 billion should be provided to bring immediate relief to the poverty-hit families, they said, adding, education, agriculture and justice be given top priority in the national agenda and funds be allocated for the construction of Kalabagh Dam. There appears an urgent need to revamp the delivery system for the more implementation by sparing reasonable funds for capacity-building process," they said.
In his presidential address Senator S.M. Zafar urged upon the economic managers to allocate adequate funds for human and social development and this goal could only be achieved through quality education. He proposed that 20 percent cut could be applied on the government spending and funds so obtained be directly transferred to this important sector for the moral, social and economic development and the progress of the people at large. He was hopeful that by investing in agriculture sector, the target of 25 million tons of wheat would be achieved by arranging healthy seed to the farmers and adequate supply of water. He emphasised that funds must be allocated for the construction of Kalabagh Dam.
Introducing the theme of the roundtable, "Characteristics of the Welfare Budget", Altaf Hasan Qureshee, Secretary General Pina, said that Quaid-e-Azam had visualised Pakistan as a welfare state which as a result of unfavourable circumstances deteriorated in the security-dominated state. A large portion of the national resources have been consumed by the armed forces and the police establishment and meager funds were available for education and human resource development.
He pointed out that glaring disparity between the rich and the poor in Pakistan could be seen as divided into parts, one for the elite and other for the have-nots. Consequently, the plunderers have assumed control over the economy while hunger and disease were forcefully attacking the destitute.
He appealed the participants to focus on the welfare aspects of the budget and suggest measures to strengthen sectors like agriculture, education and good governance. An eminent economist Shahid Kardar in his keynote address spoke on the unprecedented rise in inflation, budget and trade-deficit and prices and suggested a drastic revision of the priorities. He graphically analysed that a jump in revenue collection, foreign remittance and foreign aid in the aftermath of the 9/11 was badly consumed by heavy expenditure on defence, civil administration, military operations, imports of luxury goods, foreign tours and investment in non-productive sectors as real estate and market shares.
Kardar pleaded for injecting at least Rs 100 billions in the poverty-hit segment of the society in a transparent manner. With immediate relief, the poor would be able to survive the unbearable cost of living. He also argued for an immediate announcement of the NFC Award and Punjab must agree to the formula of population plus revenue and size of area. He said smaller provinces have been in bad shape and adequate funds needed to be transferred for social and economic uplift of the downtrodden people.
Sabir Ali Bhatti, the author of the Water Policy, explained in detail that Pakistan should build water storage capacity of 35 MAF in order to feed the growing population and generate energy for industrial growth. He shared with the participants his experiences of creating understanding with the engineers of all the provinces on the usefulness of the Kalabagh Dam.
Dr Mushtaq Gill, the former DG Agriculture Extension Punjab, outlined the importance of educating farmers for adopting modern techniques and technologies to produce more and use best water and certified inputs. Rabia Sultan, an advanced agriculturist from South Punjab, Hamid Malhi, President of Basmati Growers Association, Professor Rai Jalil Ahmad, Engineer Anwar Hussain Mujahid also spoke on the subject.
The roundtable resolved that delivery system be revamped by providing adequate funds for capacity building to ensure efficient utilisation of the budgetary allocations for the good of the people and a scheme of insurance for the peasants and low-income group should be thoughtfully devised by the government.