LAHORE: Punjab Finance Minister Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman on Tuesday announced to launch an investigation into the corruption of Sehat Cards as billions of rupees frauds were committed during the tenure of previous Punjab government.
While addressing a post-budget press conference, he said they have not terminated the Sehat Card scheme; the government has allocated Rs 45 billion for the scheme in the budget. “Transparency will be ensured in the usage of the Sehat cards; only eligible would be benefited from the Sehat card while treatment from private hospitals would be possible with this card,” he added.
The Minister said that the government will provide full relief to the poor and deserving people of the province. The government has enough cushions to launch the Ramzan Package worth Rs 30 billion while no cut has been made for the Nighban Package.
"For the first time in the history of Pakistan, the beneficiaries of the Ramzan Nighban package will receive food packages at their doorsteps without hurting their self respect," he added.
He said that three committees were formed for price control and the Ramzan Nighban package, which are monitoring both on daily basis. He said that record arrests and fines against profiteers and hoarders are made during the Ramzan while the government appointed 1500 magistrates for price control.
He also said that they have presented the budget under an exceptional circumstance and they will win the hearts of the people of Punjab. He said that following the vision of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, Punjab will once again lead all the provinces in prosperity. "Our government's top priorities will be education and health sectors. Punjab will be converted into a digital province and Lahore was being made a digital city. Moreover, special investment will be made on the development of the agricultural sector and environment. Providing protection of life and property to every citizen of the province will be part of the government's priorities. The industry and trade will be promoted through one window services by eliminating red tapes," he added.
Meanwhile, Chairman Planning and Development Board Nabeel Ahmad Awan said that all the development projects were started by the caretaker government with the permission of the Election Commission. The next three months budget was purely the budget of the new government in which Rs 280 billion were earmarked for the development projects out of which 15 percent were allocated for the roads infrastructure development schemes.
Punjab Finance Secretary Mujahid Sher Dil mentioned that Punjab has highest surplus compared to federal government and other provinces. The surplus is high, as compared to rest of the federating units. However, surplus numbers cannot share. The Punjab government restricted all the departments to keep the budget under control. The current expenditure side of the budget is fully controlled
He further said that the savings in salaries and pensions cannot be possible. However, savings in other current expenses are being ensured. The finance department approved purchase of vehicle during the time.
He mentioned that Punjab was under huge debt burden of the loan taken for wheat procurement and paying Rs 250 million monthly mark-up. However, Punjab has paid Rs 470 billion of wheat debt.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
Comments
Comments are closed.