LAHORE: Punjab on Monday presented Rs1.240 trillion Annual Development Plan for 2025-26, the largest-ever in its history and 43 per cent more than the previous year’s ADP, marking “a shift towards transformational planning, placing equity, innovation and climate resilience at the heart of development”.

The government claims that the ADP is not just a funding plan rather a blueprint for shared prosperity, designed to meet current needs while unlocking the province’s full potential for generations to come.

Unlike the previous year when infrastructure development had claimed 60pc of the ADP, the social sector emerged as the major beneficiary of the new year ADP with Rs493.5 billion or 40pc of the allocations. Infrastructure development comes next with Rs335.5bn or 27pc share.

Production sector, including agriculture, livestock, industries, etc., has been allocated 13pc or Rs164.2bn, governance sector 11pc or Rs141.6bn and others — including environment, information, Auqaf, human rights, etc. — 6pc or Rs75bn.

Provincial govt unveils broad initiatives under record Rs1.24tr ADP

Budget documents reveal that an amount of Rs148bn has been allocated for education, compared to Rs82bn in 2024-25; Rs182bn for health compared to Rs165bn; Rs80bn for agriculture, Rs38bn for planning and development, Rs12bn for industries, commerce, and investment, and Rs12bn for skill development & entrepreneurship.

The urban development sector has been allocated Rs145bn, while Rs6bn has been set aside for water supply and sanitation, and Rs142bn for local government and community development (LG&CD). Additionally, Rs85bn has been allocated for the transport sector, Rs38bn for irrigation, and Rs120bn for roads. A sum of Rs15bn has been allocated for climate change, Rs25bn for forestry, wildlife and fisheries, and Rs28bn for tourism and archaeology.

Allocations for new major initiatives include Rs50bn for Apni Chhat Apna Ghar, Rs15bn for Saaf Pani in urban development sector, Rs25bn for Punjab development plan, Rs10bn for model villages, Rs26bn for rural water supply and sanitation schemes, and Rs5bn for Murree development in the local government sector.

Likewise, Rs45.9bn has been set aside for 613 eco-friendly buses in Rawalpindi, Gujrat, Multan, Gujranwala, Bahawalpur, Sargodha, D.G. Khan, Sahiwal and Faisalabad towns; Rs2bn for feasibility and seed money for establishing high-speed Lahore-Pindi rail (total cost Rs250bn) and Rs1bn for Pindi-Murree tourist glass train (total cost Rs135bn), Rs1bn for Air Punjab (total cost Rs10bn) projects in the transport & mass transit sector.

Agri initiatives

Major initiatives in agriculture include Rs17bn for farm mechanisation, Rs2bn for efficient water use schemes.

In the health sector, main new projects are outsourced community health services (Rs12.5bn), Rawalpindi children hospital (Rs6bn), MNS medical district at Lahore (Rs6.3bn), revamping of BHUs and dispensaries (Rs11bn), and special dialysis programme (Rs8.6bn).

A sum of Rs35bn has been apportioned for private participation in imparting education, Rs15bn for laptop scheme, Rs40bn for construction of classrooms and provision of missing facilities at public schools, Rs15bn for Honhaar scholarship, Rs8bn for school meals scheme in eight districts. Safe cities tehsil project will get Rs5.897bn and IT park Rs5bn.

For the roads sector, Rs50bn have been allocated for Sarkain Bahal scheme, while remodeling of Rasul-Qadirabad link and Qadirabad-Balloki link canals, construction of new Ravi Syphon and improving priority canals have been given a total of Rs3.05bn. Himmat card for the disabled will get Rs4bn and Maryam Social Security Ration Card Rs20bn.

The ADP also includes $428.54 million foreign funded projects. These include Punjab clean air plan, rural water supply and sanitation schemes, agriculture transformation (PRIAT), urban land systems enhancement (PULSE), human capital investment projects, and green development programme. Some projects have been funded by the Asian Development, Danish International Development Agency, International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), French Development Agency, and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2025