LAHORE: The chief minister’s office under Usman Buzdar has reduced its expenditures by 40 per cent as compared to those incurred under his predecessor Shehbaz Sharif between 2017-18.

According to a comparative statement of expenditures released by the Punjab government here on Tuesday, during the financial year 2017-18, the overall non-salary expenditures were Rs238 million, which have now been reduced to Rs140 million.

Mr Buzdar said the culture of lavish spending has been done away with, not only in his office, but in the entire province.

He said the previous government wasted the public money without any justification, while the PTI government was the custodian of every penny. He said the people, not the elite, have the first right over the resources.

Regrettably, he said, the elite and the mafias played havoc with the country in the past but the PTI eliminated this plunder.

The construction and repairs of personal residences by spending the public money in the name of security had also been abolished, he added.

In another statement, the chief minister praised the 2021-22 Punjab budget, saying it would usher in an era of development and prosperity in the province.

He said a record Rs560 billion development budget had been announced, recording a 66pc increase.

He said Rs25bn had been allocated for mega projects through public-private partnership.

He said the universal health insurance programme was a flagship initiative of the PTI government to provide free health insurance to the entire population of Punjab.

Published in Dawn, EOS, June 16th, 2021