LAHORE: A government official has claimed that Rs125 billion has been earmarked for south Punjab in the Annual Development Plan (ADP) to bring it on a par with other areas of the province.

However, no traces of the allocations were found in the budget document.

The official, who requested no to be named, said that the project details could not be included in the documents for the south Punjab-specific ADP was finalised at the eleventh hour and the department concerned did not get the time to amend the budget documents accordingly.

Finance Minister Ayesha Ghaus Pasha in her budget speech mentioned allocation of Rs25 billion for Saaf Pani project in 37 tehsils of south Punjab, two Daanish schools each at Taunsa and Mankera -- one for boys and one for girls, as well as Rs1 billion for 100 mobile health units in the southern region.

The official said the government was formulating a development framework for less-developed districts that had been lagging behind in the multidimensional poverty index in the province. These districts included Layyah, Lodhran, Mianwali, Bahawalnagar, Bhakkar, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Muzaffargarh, Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur.

The official further said that dual carriageways between Khanewal and Lodhran and Muzaffargarh and Dera Ghazi Khan, and widening of Hasilpur-Bahawalnagar road, construction of a bridge on the Chenab at Shahbazpur and a flyover at Matla Chowk were also included in the projects for south Punjab. The projects also included establishment of a veterinary university in Bahawalpur, an engineering and IT university in Rahim Yar Khan, construction of eight new colleges, 50 per cent share in the laptop scheme, and provision of solar power to 10,000 households.

Management of hill torrents in Dera Ghazi Khan and 135-megawatt Taunsa hydel power projects were also among the projects to be initiated in the southern belt of the province.

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2017