Lahore-The treasury members who participated in the debate on supplementary budget have demanded inquiry into the supplementary grants spent by the previous government.
The assembly session at Aiwan-e-Iqbal began with a delay of one hour and 55 minutes under the chairmanship of Panel of Chairman Khalil Tahir Sindhu on Thursday.
As per the tradition, the panel chairman invited the leader of the opposition, Sibtain Khan to start the debate but he was not present in the House.
Taking part in the debate, Azma Zahid Bokhari said the supplementary budget must be passed even though the incumbent government spent very little out of it. “We have no idea where Usman Bazdar and his government have utilized this money but we have to pass it under compulsion,” she averred. She said Buzdar did not even push for the NFC award money from Imran Khan. “We will pass the budget but it must be investigated where the money has been spent,” she demanded.
The chairman of the panel appreciated the point raised by Azma, saying this money must be accounted for. “People must know where this money has been used,” he stressed. Aswa Aftab also demanded that the expenditure made out of the supplementary grants should be thoroughly probed. She said most of the supplementary budget of the police had been spent in Dera Ghazi Khan.
Panel Chairman Khalil Tahir Sindhu said that there were many inquiries to be made in the days to come. “Those who have been receiving crores of rupees are yet to be held accountable. All the names will be revealed. Rupees 150 million given to the assembly members will also be taken into account, he affirmed.
Criticizing the previous government for its overspending, Saba Sadiq said that “Wasim Akram plus” caused hardships to the people of this province due to his misplaced fiscal policies. She also demanded probe into the supplementary budget to know where this money had been spent. “Our government has presented a very balanced budget. We will try to make better use of the money,” she pledged.
Maulana Ilyas Chinioti presented a resolution seeking immediate construction of Chiniot-Faisalabad Road. The resolution, adopted by majority vote, also demanded that this project should be taken out of the EPP mode and included in the budget for 2022-23. Sheikh Allauddin said that the suggestions coming from the assembly members must be recorded for implementation. Rana Ali Abbas alleged that Farah Gogi had been allocated a ten-acre plot in Faisalabad with an investment of Rs1,000 crore.
The sitting was adjourned till 9am on Friday (today) after completion of the agenda. Voting on the demands in the supplementary budget will take place in Friday’s session.
Deputy Speaker issues showcause notice to pa officers
Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari on Thursday issued show cause notices to the staff of Punjab Assembly for non-attendance during the budget session in Aiwan-e-Iqbal and demanded a reply within a week.
Acting secretary Punjab Assembly had issued a notification on the orders of the deputy speaker stating that orders had been issued to the Legislative Branch, State Branch, Reporting Branch and Security Branch of the Punjab Assembly to immediately render their services to Aiwan-e-Iqbal Punjab Assembly. Despite the orders of the deputy speaker, all these departments did not report at Aiwan-e-Iqbal budget meeting. The officers have been directed to reply to notice within seven days otherwise departmental disciplinary action will be taken against them.
Treasury demands inquiry into Buzdar govt’s spending
The assembly session at Aiwan-e-Iqbal began with a delay of one hour and 55 minutes under the chairmanship of Panel of Chairman Khalil Tahir Sindhu on Thursday.
As per the tradition, the panel chairman invited the leader of the opposition, Sibtain Khan to start the debate but he was not present in the House.
Taking part in the debate, Azma Zahid Bokhari said the supplementary budget must be passed even though the incumbent government spent very little out of it. “We have no idea where Usman Bazdar and his government have utilized this money but we have to pass it under compulsion,” she averred. She said Buzdar did not even push for the NFC award money from Imran Khan. “We will pass the budget but it must be investigated where the money has been spent,” she demanded.
The chairman of the panel appreciated the point raised by Azma, saying this money must be accounted for. “People must know where this money has been used,” he stressed. Aswa Aftab also demanded that the expenditure made out of the supplementary grants should be thoroughly probed. She said most of the supplementary budget of the police had been spent in Dera Ghazi Khan.
Panel Chairman Khalil Tahir Sindhu said that there were many inquiries to be made in the days to come. “Those who have been receiving crores of rupees are yet to be held accountable. All the names will be revealed. Rupees 150 million given to the assembly members will also be taken into account, he affirmed.
Criticizing the previous government for its overspending, Saba Sadiq said that “Wasim Akram plus” caused hardships to the people of this province due to his misplaced fiscal policies. She also demanded probe into the supplementary budget to know where this money had been spent. “Our government has presented a very balanced budget. We will try to make better use of the money,” she pledged.
Maulana Ilyas Chinioti presented a resolution seeking immediate construction of Chiniot-Faisalabad Road. The resolution, adopted by majority vote, also demanded that this project should be taken out of the EPP mode and included in the budget for 2022-23. Sheikh Allauddin said that the suggestions coming from the assembly members must be recorded for implementation. Rana Ali Abbas alleged that Farah Gogi had been allocated a ten-acre plot in Faisalabad with an investment of Rs1,000 crore.
The sitting was adjourned till 9am on Friday (today) after completion of the agenda. Voting on the demands in the supplementary budget will take place in Friday’s session.
Deputy Speaker issues showcause notice to pa officers
Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari on Thursday issued show cause notices to the staff of Punjab Assembly for non-attendance during the budget session in Aiwan-e-Iqbal and demanded a reply within a week.
Acting secretary Punjab Assembly had issued a notification on the orders of the deputy speaker stating that orders had been issued to the Legislative Branch, State Branch, Reporting Branch and Security Branch of the Punjab Assembly to immediately render their services to Aiwan-e-Iqbal Punjab Assembly. Despite the orders of the deputy speaker, all these departments did not report at Aiwan-e-Iqbal budget meeting. The officers have been directed to reply to notice within seven days otherwise departmental disciplinary action will be taken against them.
Treasury demands inquiry into Buzdar govt’s spending
