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19 June 2004
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Saturday
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30 Rabi-us-Saani 1425
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Budget an effort to 'provide relief'
By Our Staff Reporter
LAHORE, June 18: The Punjab budget for 2004-05 reflects the government's conscious effort to provide relief to the poor without disturbing its short and long-term development strategy for sustained growth and poverty alleviation.
This was stated by Finance Minister Hasnain Bahadur Dareshak at a post-budget press conference on Friday. He said the exemption from property tax to owners of up to five-marla houses in category D-G would cost the province Rs280 million. "This single pro-people measure will benefit 300,000 owners of up to five-marla houses in poorer localities."
The minister said the government considered education as the key to progress, and was making all efforts on human resource development through education and skill training.
Explaining reduction in wheat subsidy, he said it went to the affluent flour mills and was never passed on to consumers. He said the consumers would not suffer due to reduction in subsidy.
Transportation cost of wheat borne by the government would now be borne by mills. Similarly, he said, the mills would bear the accrued interest. He said rationalization of supply of jute bags had also saved the subsidy the province had to bear in the past.
Dareshek said increase in government employees' salaries would cost the Punjab an additional burden of Rs7 billion. He said the provincial government would match the raise in salaries and pensions as provided by the federal government.
He said the increase in transfer fee on registration of vehicles from other provinces to the Punjab would not have any impact on majority users. The transfer of vehicle registration in the Punjab from other provinces is banned to eliminate possibility of fake registration or registration of smuggled vehicles.
Only public servants on transfer from other provinces are allowed to register their vehicles in the Punjab. He also defended the increase in life-time token tax on motorcycles by Rs200 on the ground that the earlier rate was fixed in 1994 and needed to be rationalized.
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