LAHORE: The Punjab government has proposed to allocate Rs 560 billion for the Annual Development Programme (ADP) 2021-22 which is 66 percent more as compared to the last financial year.
For the first time in history of the province, the Punjab government has paid special attention by allocating Rs 189,288 million under the ADP 2021-22 for South Punjab. "Focus on regional equalization for the development of South Punjab will also support the development of the backward areas of the province. Some of the critical priorities for South Punjab include education and health, infrastructure linkages/connectivity, agriculture, industrial and urban development," states the budget document.
As per the budget document, the size of overall ADP has been increased in order to achieve a growth rate of 4.8 percent in 2021-22, "the government is targeting a growth rate of 5.5 percent by 2022-23 for which size of the ADP will have to be increased substantially."
According to it, this extra ordinary increase in the ADP indicates the priority of provincial government and will ensure economic stability and prosperity of the people. Enhanced government spending through the ADP in different sectors of the economy is the basic pre-condition for staying on the path for achieving the targeted growth rate.
The budget document further said one percent increase in ADP spending will lead to a provincial GDP growth of 2 percent which leads to 1 percent improvement in employment level and 4 percent improvement in poverty, translating into over 300,000 new jobs and pulling 0.5 million households out of poverty in FY 2021-22.
Development priorities and government spending for Annual Development Program, 2020-21 were guided by Punjab Growth Strategy 2023 and Punjab Spatial Strategy 2047. Priority areas were livelihood security through social protection schemes; investments to fill health infrastructure gaps, ensuring food security; education and human capital development along with support to the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector.
The guiding principles adopted for ADP 2021-22 include economic growth-led investment inclusive and balanced regional development, transformation of agriculture sector, human development through skills development, enabling environment for private sector resource mobilization, and targeted investments in priority projects through Economic Revival Programme. Moreover, the ADP was developed as a sustainable investment plan for Punjab to counter the effects of COVID-19 and at the same time accelerates growth in key sectors of the economy.
The major emphasis of the ADP is on social sectors which will get Rs 205,498 million, followed by school education Rs 35,500 million, higher education Rs 15,065 million, special education Rs 755 million, literacy and NFBE Rs 2,900 million, sports and youth affairs Rs 6,150 million, health and family planning Rs 98,012 million, specialized health and medical education Rs 17,212 million, primary and secondary health care Rs 78,700 million, population welfare Rs 2,100 million, water supply and sanitation Rs 18,764 million, social welfare Rs 1,221 million, women development Rs 5006 million, LG&CD Rs 26,631 million, infrastructure development Rs 145,403 million, roads Rs 58,299 million, irrigation Rs 30,778 million, energy Rs 7,000, public buildings Rs19,277 million urban development 30,04 million production sectors Rs57,900million, agriculture Rs 31,497million, forestry Rs 4,000 million, wildlife Rs 1,000million ,fisheries Rs1,000 million, food Rs 500 million, Livestock & dairy development Rs5,000 million. Industries, Commerce, Investment & Skills Development Rs 12,200 million Mines and Minerals Rs1,450 million, Tourism Rs 1,253 million, Services Rs 23,375 million Governance and IT Rs 5,075million labour & HR development Rs 400 million, Transport Rs 16,800 million, Emergency Services (1122) Rs1,100 million Others Rs 36,410 million environment & climate change Rs 5,000 million, information &culture Rs 510 million, archaeology Rs 700 million, auqaf & religious affairs Rs 700 million, human rights & minority affairs Rs 2,500 million, Planning & Development Rs 27,000 million, special initiatives Rs 91,414 million, special programmes and initiatives Rs 91,414million and total ADP amount is 560,00 billions.
The ADP illustrates the number of schemes that are expected to complete by end of June 2021. A total of 5,889 schemes are expected to be completed on priority, out of which 1,770 are ADP schemes, 1,500 belong to community development programme and 2,619 schemes are related to sustainable development achievement programme.
The Punjab government has substantially improved the throw forward liability from 3.7 to 2.4 times of the budget allocations, which was reduced from Rs. 1,296 billion to Rs. 821 billion in absolute numbers.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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