LAHORE: The Governor House this year would get Rs589 million, up from Rs483 million last year, which represents a 21 percent increase in potential expenditures of the office of the provincial constitutional head.

The Governor House Secretariat was allocated Rs542 million last year, but it spent Rs483 million only – thus saving an amount of Rs59 million during the last year.

Former PTI governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar always took pride in controlling the expenditures of his office. The saving plans gave way to a business plan last year for the Governor House in order to make it financially self-sustainable. Under the business plan, the hall and lawn of the Governor House were made available for corporate events, weddings, and commercial photo shoots while guided tours of the entire Governor House could be booked on weekends.

It is not known how much money the Governor’s House made out of that plan, but a healthy saving of Rs59 million does represent substantial success if the income came from the plan. No one now knows the fate of the plan.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2022