LAHORE: The opposition in the Punjab Assembly on Monday said the government had diverted billions of rupees of other departments to the Orange Line Train project.

“At least Rs2.5 billion funds of different projects like protection of agriculture and water course infrastructure have been diverted to the ‘controversial’ orange line train project. The government has completely ignored the agriculture sector and the farmers are suffering because of its apathy,” said Opposition Leader Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed while debating on ‘agriculture and grievances of sugarcane growers’.

He said the government had spent Rs12bn on the advertisement campaign of the Rs340bn farmers’ package which should be probed.

He said the framers used Rs250bn diesel annually and the government was in no mood to give them relief on this account despite drastic reduction of its price in the international market.

The government was pocketing Rs40 per litre in diesel thus not ready to trickle down its impact on the masses.

Mr Rasheed said the farmers of potato had been affected the most as they paid cold storage rent more than what they expected to get from their crop.

The opposition leader said the speaker should form a parliamentary committee comprising MPAs from the treasury and opposition, representatives of farmers’ associations and experts to look into the problems the farmers were facing and suggest recommendations in this regard.

PML-N’s Mian Rafique said all successive governments remained ‘trader-friendly’ and none of them was ‘farmer-friendly’.

Agriculture Minister Dr Farrukh Javed said the government had taken over the stock of seven sugar mills in order to ensure payment to sugarcane growers after selling it.

Earlier during a question hour, Jamaat-i-Islami’s Dr Wasim Akhtar asked as to why the construction of a new building of the Punjab Assembly was not being completed.

Housing Minister Tanvir Aslam replied that for 2015-16 Rs400m had been allocated for additional and extension of the assembly building.

A sum of Rs742m would be more required for its completion. However, he gave no timeframe for its completion.

PTI’s Mian Aslam told the House that Rs2,136m were spent on the construction of the road from Scheme Morr to Bastami Road. “Now it is uprooted for the metro train. Who will be accountable for this wastage of public money,” he asked.

RESOLUTION: The House unanimously adopted a resolution condemning attack on media houses.

It said such cowardly acts could not terrorise journalists.

Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2016