LAHORE, June 14: The Punjab government has allocated a record amount of Rs100 billion for the Annual Development Plan (ADP) for the fiscal year 2006-07, with an objective to achieve high economic growth, extend social sector coverage, improve delivery of public services, reduce poverty and ensure a balanced regional and gender development.
Around 59 per cent higher than the current year's ADP, it includes Rs65 billion for the core provincial development programme, Rs23 billion for special infrastructure development and Rs12 billion for districts/tehsil municipal administrations.
The provincial contribution will be over Rs91.123 billion and the rest of the funding will come from foreign loans and grants to the tune of around Rs8.876 billion, reveal budget documents presented before the Punjab Assembly here on Wednesday.
Allocation per scheme comes to Rs27 million, as maximum funding has been made for current projects. At least 60 per cent of 2,430 schemes are likely to be completed during the next financial year.
The main emphasis of the Punjab government seems to be on developing infrastructure, as besides a special allocation of Rs23 billion, another big chunk of Rs25.7 billion has been set aside for the purpose from the core provincial development programme, mainly for constructing new roads.
Lahore Ring Road and Lahore-Sialkot motorway are the focus of the "ambition road development plan" envisaged to improve average road density and provide province-wide north-south and east-west corridors linking national motorways.
It also embarks upon a phased plan for dualising main arteries, with 8,000 vehicles per day and widening roads to 20 to 24 feet having traffic above 800 vehicles per day.
It also covers the irrigation sector with Rs8.5 billion allocation for lining over 300km of secondary water channels, completing 50 per cent rehabilitation and modernisation emergency work on Taunsa Barrage and 100 per cent on Ghazial, Khai and Domeli dams as well as six small dams in Chakwal, Jhelum, Attock and Rawalpindi districts. The Khokhra hydropower (3.2mw) project and preparation of five more hydel power stations are also included in the infrastructure development budget.
Like the current financial year, the social sector -- encompassing education, health, urban development, social welfare, emergency services, etc. -- comes second in the priority list, as a sum of Rs28.493 billion has been earmarked for it.
For the education sector an amount of Rs12.48 billion has been allocated with objectives of establishing or upgrading 200 schools, training 121,087 teachers, setting up over 3,000 libraries and 386 computer labs.
In the health sector, which will get Rs4.3 billion, the major interventions are providing missing facilities and staff at rural and basic health centres, upgrading facilities at DHQ and THQ hospitals, reforming the medico-legal system, health insurance for vulnerable groups like senior citizens and government employees.
For water supply and sanitation a sum of Rs5.2 billion has been earmarked; for urban development Rs1.193 billion; emergency services Rs900 million; while tourism will get a modest sum of Rs90 million.
Production sectors like agriculture, food livestock and industries have been given third priority in the ADP. For the agriculture sector the allocation is Rs1.1 billion, with strategic interventions of revamping research responsive to market requirements, developing higher yielding crops, establishing farmers’ field schools, training facilitators and encouraging private investment in setting up processing, grading and packaging and cold storage facilities for farm produce.
A sum of Rs600 million has been provided to the livestock sector for comprehensive health coverage for animals, preservation of genetic pool of important breeds of the province, encouragement of cooperative formation and public-private partnerships, introduction of high yielding fodder varieties, training of livestock farmers and improvement of the marketing system and applied research in the sector.
The forest, wildlife and fisheries sector will get Rs575 million for afforestation along canals, setting up forest parks, enumerating linear plantations, rehabilitating wildlife parks and zoological gardens, breeding centres and increasing fish production through research in fish disease and habitat.
The industries and mines sector has been given Rs1.05 billion to achieve the target of establishing four cluster development centres, an entrepreneurs’ development organization, and upgradation and improvement of eight small industrial estates in the province.
The funds will also be used for setting up polytechnic and technical training institutes, a leather institute in Kasur, a textile school in Shahdara, besides a surgical technology institute in Sialkot. Coal and iron deposits will be explored at Kallar Kahar, Chiniot and Khushab; a silica washing plant will be set up in Mianwali and exploration and evaluation of iron ore deposits in Jhang.
The ADP includes an allocation of Rs550 million for environment, with major focus on upgrading facilities for monitoring sub-soil water quality, air quality and gaseous emission in big cities, and environment education. A sum of Rs200 million has been earmarked for Chief Minister's Green Programme for mitigating air pollution in the transport sector, landfill sites for solid waste disposal, sewerage and drainage systems.
Under the access to justice programme, a sum of Rs600 million has been apportioned for an effective, expeditious, inexpensive and quality justice system. In the services sector, information technology will get Rs800 million for computerization and automation of government departments, training of government employees and implementation of motor transport and land record management information system. A sum of Rs500 million has been provided for a newly-introduced services sector meant for capacity building of commerce and investment department for research and policy analysis, promotion of WTO related preparedness, study on ways of improving investment and business climate and establishment of the Hospitality Institute of Punjab to cater to the emerging needs of the tourism industry.
