LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif has directed the administration to prepare the next provincial budget in a manner that is reflective of the needs of the poor masses, saying that special attention should be paid to the welfare of neglected segments of the society as well as provision of justice and basic amenities to the citizens. He said the common men had been groaning under the burden of direct and indirect taxes, therefore, the affluent segments of the society should be brought within the tax net for generating further resources. He was presiding over a high-level meeting on Sunday to set priorities for the provincial budget for the year 2009-2010 and Annual Development Programme (ADP). The chief secretary, chairman Planning and Development Department, secretary Finance and other officials concerned attended the meeting to consider outlines of next budget and development programme in detail along with finalising various proposals in this regard. Speaking on the occasion, Shahbaz said there was a need for making special efforts for poverty alleviation and uplifting of the deprived people, while the ADP should aim at laying the foundation of a balanced development process and planning. He also directed to initiate only those projects in the ADP, which could directly benefit the common man and said there was a need for promoting the culture of austerity and adopting the policy of self-reliance instead of depending on foreign aid. He said Punjab was rich in natural resources; therefore, agriculture, livestock, industries, infrastructure and other sectors would have to be developed for the rapid progress of the province and generation of maximum resources for the welfare of the people. The chief minister further said the provincial government was utilising all available resources for the horizontal development and revolutionary measures had been taken for poverty alleviation. He also mentioned the Food Support Programme, which is benefiting around 1.8 million poor families across Punjab, and said comprehensive strategy was evolved for imparting vocational education to the poor children so that they could achieve self-reliance as well as play an active role in developing the country.