LAHORE: The new Punjab government’s first budget (2018-19) has slashed Annual Development Programme (ADP) allocations for the social sector.

The budget tabled on Tuesday in the Punjab Assembly has a total allocation of Rs93.6 billion for the social sector that is Rs108.63 billion less from the last fiscal year ended on June 30 this year. The predecessor government of the PML-N accumulatively allocated Rs201.63 for the social sector in 2017-18.

The social sector allocations include Rs25 billion for education, Rs5 billion for higher education, Rs1 billion for special education and Rs1.8 billion for literacy and non-formal basic education. Similarly, Rs2 billion will spent on sports & youth affairs, Rs33 billion on health, Rs20.5 billion on water supply and sanitation, Rs550 million on social welfare, Rs115 million on women’s development and Rs4.4 billion on local government & community development.

Huge allocations by the PML-N government did not impress Finance Minister Hashim Jawan Bakhat.

“If we see performance of the last government in education, still 9 million children are out of schools,” he thundered in his budget speech. “And still those in schools are without quality education.”

The government will also have to complete several ongoing schemes, launched by the previous government.

In school education, the government will spend on ongoing schemes, Rs2.563 billion for new schemes and Rs17.4 billion for other schemes. Similarly, Rs2.805 billion, Rs695 million and Rs1.5 billion will spend on higher education’s ongoing, new and other development programmes.

Primary & Secondary Healthcare’s Rs16 billion budget includes Rs15.088 billion for ongoing schemes, Rs411.407 million for new and Rs500 million for other development schemes. Population Welfare’s Rs1 billion includes Rs561 million, Rs226 million and Rs213 million for ongoing, new and other development schemes. The water supply and sanitation budget would include Rs8.409 billion and Rs12.091 billion for ongoing and new schemes. Social Welfare’s ongoing and new schemes will get Rs423 million and Rs126 million; Local Government and Community Development’s Rs4.635 billion budget includes Rs3.864 billion and Rs770 million for ongoing and new schemes.

“We are allocating Rs20.5 billion for the water and sanitation under the ADP. Through this we will accomplish various projects including provision of clean water for healthy life, Insaaf Programme for rural water supply and sanitation, rehabilitation of dysfunctional rural water supply schemes and installation of surface water treatment plant and wastewater treatment plants,” the minister said. The government will also introduce Insaaf Sehat Card and Health Insurance Programme in 36 districts of the province.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2018