LAHORE - Rejecting all cut motions moved by the opposition, the Punjab Assembly on Friday approved supplementary budget to the tune of Rs39.97 billion for the fiscal year 2014-15 with majority.
Through a unanimously adopted resolution, the PA demanded the federal government to probe allegations leveled in the BBC report against the MQM and initiate proceedings against the culprits under Article 6 of the Constitution of Pakistan if charges were proven.
The proceedings started 55 minutes beyond the scheduled time with Speaker Rana Iqbal in the chair. The House approved 40 Demands for Grants for different departments. Out of four cut motions moved by the opposition legislators, two were disposed of for being contrary to the rules while the remaining were rejected by the House with a majority vote.
Earlier, taking part in the debate, Opposition legislator Dr Waseem Akhtar said the government has ignored South Punjab and the entire focus of development is on Lahore. The government has allocated huge amount for a small hill station Murree and only Rs5 million for the entire South Punjab, he added.
Waseem said the PA had passed a resolution for giving status of a province to the South Punjab during the last tenure of Shahbaz Sharif as Chief Minister. He suggested the treasury to implement the resolution as the same party was in power both in the centre and the Punjab. It was a pity that the rulers were wasting hard earned money of tax payers in useless projects, he added.
PTI’s Mian Aslam Iqbal said TMOs were harassing the poor vendors in the name of quality and price checking during the holy month of Ramazan. He accused the government officials of distributing money taking as bribe from the poor vendors. He said corruption was at its peak in Lahore Development Authority and there was need of third party audit.
He further said the government was not initiating any development project in the constituencies from where PTI candidates won elections.
Waqas Hassan Moakal said the government was establishing companies of departments one by one. A foreign company has been given contract of Rs9 billion for lifting solid waste from Lahore. Last year, the contract amount was only one billion rupees and now it has been increased nine times, he told the House.
Q-League’s Khadija Umar said one individual was managing affairs of all local governments through 37 officers for the last seven years. The government was not ready to hold local bodies elections despite clear directions of the apex court she added.
The PML-Q leader suggested the CM to spare some time from his stay in Lahore, Islamabad and Murree and go to the far flung areas for seeing plight of the masses.
Qazi Ahmed Saeed urged the government to give some attention to the less developed South Punjab instead of spending all resources on Lahore.
Through a resolution, Mian Aslam Iqbal expressed his concerns over allegations leveled by BBC in a recently published report and demanded impartial probe. He said the allegations against MQM regarding taking training from Indian spy agency RAW and supporting terrorists were not new. Altaf Hussain and other MQM leaders should be tried under article 6 for treachery, he demanded.
On completion of agenda, the chair prorogued the session.