“Due to non-availability of the minister in charge, Chief Minister [Hamza Shehbaz] has been pleased to assign Assembly Business of Finance Department to Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Laghari, provincial minister, during the forthcoming budget session of the provincial assembly of Punjab,” said an official handout issued on Sunday.

Punjab government spokesperson Attaullah Tarar had claimed that the appointment of the finance minister would be decided within two days.

Punjab’s outlay for the fiscal year 2022-23 comes two days after the federal government budget, which was worth more than Rs9,000 billion. Despite stressing the need for taking tough decisions, finance czar Miftah Ismail announced a 15% increase in the salaries of government employees and jacked up the budget of the Benazir Income Support Programme from Rs250 billion to Rs364 billion.

A copy of the provincial budget document, which is available with Aaj News, showed that as many as Rs685 billion have been allocated for the developments – out of the total Rs3,226 billion. Sources said that approval from the provincial cabinet would be sought before presenting the budget to the assembly.

Key points

• Total volume: Rs3,226 billion
• Development funds: Rs685 billion
• 15% raise suggested in government employees salaries
• 5% increase proposed in government employees’ pension
• Ongoing projects: Rs365 billion
• New projects: Rs233 billion
• Restoration of roads: Rs10 billion
• School education: Rs39 billion
• Higher education: Rs13.5 billion
• Health: Rs172 billion
• Agriculture: Rs14 billion
• South Punjab: Rs31 billion
• Social sector: Rs274 billion, a 33% increase

They added that around Rs65.8 billion of development projects would start with foreign loans. The government has assigned PML-N leader Malik Ahmed Khan the responsibilities of law and parliamentary affairs for the session.

Parliamentary meeting

The provincial parliamentary leaders, which met on Sunday to deliberate on the budget, expressed their full confidence in Punjab CM Hamza Shehbaz.

“No doubt, we have challenges. But, we will move forward by the grace of God. By turning the challenges into opportunities, we will create facilities for the people,” he said, adding that the government would provide “relief” to the people.