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Northern Punjab ‘most neglected’
By Faizan Bangash
LAHORE
PML-Q legislators have demanded administrative division of Punjab into three parts i.e. Northern, Central and Southern Punjab to put an end to the sense of deprivation among the people of neglected areas.
In the post-budget Punjab Assembly session on Saturday, the opposition criticised the Punjab government for presenting an ‘urban-oriented’ budget and neglecting 60 per cent population living in rural areas of the province.
The opposition called for the construction of Kalabagh Dam and flayed the silence of the government on the issue.
During the proceedings, Sher Ali Khan of the PML-Q said that there were demands for hefty allocations for Southern Punjab but in fact the areas of Northern Punjab were the picture of neglect and needed an allocation of around Rs 50 billion.
He said those who complained that Southern Punjab remained a neglected part of the province should also inform the House as to where did politicians such as Mumtaz Khan Daultana, Malik Ghulam Mustafa Khar, Sardar Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari, Nawab Sadiq Qureshi, Sajjad Hussain Qureshi and even the current Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani had come from.
He said in reality it was the land of Potohar and parts of Northern Punjab which were not given due attention by the governments and now it was high time that like Indian Punjab, Punjab province should also be divided administratively into three parts to put an end to the sense of deprivation among the people. He said at the time of partition, Punjab was divided into three parts and two parts were given to Pakistan and one was to India. He said later India divided its Punjab into three parts.
“If it can happen in India, why not Punjab be divided into Northern, Central and Southern Punjab,” said Sher Ali Khan from Attock District. He said it was unfortunate that the Federal Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, who himself belonged to the land of Potohar, had buried the Kalabagh Dam issue. He said that Kalabagh Dam was need of hour and would be constructed at any cost.
He said it unfortunately budget was not public-friendly but was an ‘urban oriented’ budget. He said the slogan of Sasti Roti was merely a gimmick as a great population living in the rural areas hadn’t benefited from it. He said in various union councils falling in rural Attock, only a few tanoors were working. He said the government should provide subsidy on flour which would be a better option to provide relief to people rather than disrespecting those who wait in long queues to get Sasti Roti.
Over the issue of education, Sher Ali Khan also criticized the reduction of allocation of Rs 10b in the budget from Rs 55b to 45b. He slammed the handing over of Cadet College in Chua Syeden Shah, District Chakwal to the government’s Danish School System. He said the land of Potohar produced the largest numbers of soldiers and a cadet college in that area was being given to the Danish School.
Similarly, another Opposition member from Narowal, Col (retd) Abbas Chaudhry said all claims of presenting a public-friendly budget by the government were false as the budget carried nothing for the poor. He said the subsidy of Rs 30 billion is of no use for the poor people as this was merely on ‘give and take’ basis. He said the government couldn’t even construct 10 dams in coming years. He said for the construction of dams, survey and feasibility reports were needed but no such thing had been done so far.
During a point of order, Zobia Rubab Malik of the PML-Q said it was unfortunate that budget session was a very important part of proceedings but in the House of 371, only 40 members were sitting on Treasury benches. She said the members must pay attention towards this important session.
Anjum Safdar, a treasury member from Faisalabad, hailed the provincial budget and praised Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif for working to address public grievances. She said the PML-N had a historic role in the restoration of judiciary and the government must form a bench of Lahore High Court in Faisalabad, the third largest city of Pakistan.
Ali Asgher Manda, a PML-N MPA from District Sheikhupura demanded construction of sports complex for the populated teshil of Sharaqpur.
Prisons Minister Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor on a point of order welcomed two Chinese guests sitting in the galleries who were also welcomed by Deputy Speaker Rana Mashood Ahmed Khan on the behalf of entire House.
Deputy Speaker Rana Mashood Ahmed Khan adjourned the proceedings until Monday afternoon.
The News: Sunday, June 21, 2009
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