LAHORE: Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Mahmoodur Rasheed has alleged that the Punjab government callously used funds allocated for education, health, safe drinking water and basic human rights to construct bridges and roads – in a bid to squander large sums of public money.

Revealing the facts about the Punjab government projects on Saturday, Mr Rasheed stated the PML-N government had wasted billions of rupees from the public exchequer in the name of Sasti Roti as well as metro and Orange Line trains.

“People are being kept away from the financial facts as poor man’s children are kept away from getting any government job,” he lamented.

Even after the Sasti Roti scheme flopped, he said, the government functionaries continued getting subsidised flour for many years and the Sasti Roti Authority continued functioning. Overall Rs70bn were squandered under this project, he alleged.

The PTI leader said the PML-N government had introduced laptop scheme to earn sympathies of the youth. However, he said, the government had set new records of financial irregularities and was duly identified by the Accountant General Punjab in its audit report. According to the report, he said, some 1,771 students received two laptops each from total 5,738 laptops, some 2,081 students’ identity cards were found to be fake and 1,181 students’ record was not available. Some 305 laptops were stolen. He also alleged the government’s laptops were still being sold in the open market at the rate of Rs10,000 to Rs15,000.

“The scheme caused a loss of Rs70 m to the government exchequer,” the report said.

Mr Rasheed said the Yellow Cab Scheme also got flopped due to government’s incompetence and corrupt mindset. He said the Metro Bus Project was running in Rs5bn annual loss. The record of the project was burnt. The Rawalpindi Metro Project proved as the world’s expensive project with billions looted in corruption.

The Opposition Leader said the government did not give jobs to the educated youth but asked them to get loans and added that both the Youth Loan Scheme and Apna Rozgar Scheme failed. He said the government started the Youth Helmet Scheme and Youth Ujala Scheme but shut them down in just three months. He said the Scooty Scheme could not come out on roads.

Mr Rasheed also referred to Nandipur Power Project, Qadirpur Coal Project, Gaddani Power Project, Quaid-i-Azam Solar Power Project and LNG and Neelum Jehlum projects, saying how they had failed.

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2018