Latest news with #Rs842
Express Tribune
a day ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Opposition rejects budget, pledges shadow version for poor
The Opposition in the Punjab Assembly on Tuesday rejected the provincial government's proposed budget for fiscal year 2025-26, pledging instead to present a "shadow budget" that they claim will reflect the real needs of the poor and underserved. As Opposition Leader Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar began his opening speech during the general discussion on the annual budget, the House quickly descended into chaos. Treasury members interrupted the session with loud protests, prompting an equally noisy response from the Opposition benches. In his address, Bhachar questioned the rationale behind increasing the development budget to Rs1,240 billion when no new development projects were included in the list. He highlighted that the previous year's development budget stood at Rs842 billion, yet there remains no transparency about how or where those funds were utilized. "Where did the last budget go? There's no audit, no accountability, and now they want even more money without a single new project," Bhachar said, accusing the government of corruption in several of its flagship initiatives, including tree-planting drives and model bazaars. He criticized the increased allocation for education, pointing out that 25,000 of Punjab's 49,000 government schools have been outsourced, and more than 7 million children remain out of school. "The state of public schools is there for everyone to see, and outsourcing is not a solution," he added.
Business Recorder
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Budget FY2025-26: Punjab govt presents Rs5.3tn ‘tax-free' budget
Punjab Finance Minister Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman on Monday presented the provincial budget for the financial year 2025-26 in the assembly session. A week after the federal government announced its budget, the provincial government proposed its Rs5.335 trillion budget for the upcoming fiscal year. As the provincial minister presented the budget, the opposition lawmakers of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) protested. He started the budget speech by mentioning the measures taken by the incumbent provincial government. 'I would like to congratulate the political and military leadership for safeguarding national interests during the recent tensions with India,' the minister said. 'We have completed 6,104 projects during the ongoing fiscal year,' he informed. He shared that the government is establishing the Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment and Research in Lahore at a cost of Rs72 billion. The provincial government allocated Rs1.24 trillion for development in FY26, an increase of 47% as compared to Rs842 billion allocated in FY25. 'This budget marks a strategic shift in Punjab's history,' said the minister. Budget FY2024-25: Punjab govt presents Rs5.4 trillion 'tax-free' budget Earlier, Business Recorder, citing its sources, informed that the upcoming provincial budget will be tax-free, and no new taxes will be introduced. Estimated at over Rs1,200 billion, the new fiscal plan is expected to feature a record-breaking development outlay, emphasising health, education, infrastructure, and tourism. As per the report, the new budget will include over 850 development schemes, and the key projects include the expansion of Nawaz Sharif Medical City in Lahore, where new hospitals will be constructed under a public-private partnership model. The government also plans to roll out extensive sanitation and clean drinking water initiatives throughout Punjab. Infrastructure development remains a central priority. More to follow
Time of India
04-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Trials begin for Ujani-Solapur water pipeline project
Kolhapur: Trials have started for the Rs842 crore Ujani-Solapur parallel water pipeline project, after is recent completion. Solapur city, with a population of 12 lakhs, suffers from chronic water scarcity. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The city sources water from the Ujani Dam, located 80 km from the city, and from the Hipparga barrage. Most of the water is supplied from the dam. The water is released into the Bhima river and is pumped from the pumping stations. However, after the water is released for the city, it is lost for irrigation and percolates—around 30-40% of the water is lost in this way. The city will receive water from double-parallel pipelines directly from the dam to the city. Solapur city is included in the Smart City project, through which the centre sanctioned funds for the pipeline project, with some funds from the National Thermal Power Corporation and the state govt, in which 30% of the share will be from the Solapur Municipal Corporation. Vyankatesh Choube, technical officer of the smart city project, said, "The infrastructural works are complete. The trials have started, which will soon be completed, and the water supply project will be commissioned." Asim Gupta, principal secretary of the urban development department, will visit the project sites on Thursday. He will then hold a meeting of the Solapur City Development Corporation at the municipal corporation building. After taking stock of the project, the date for the inauguration of the project will be announced. Solapur city requires 250 million litres of water every day. The water treatment plant (WTP) with a capacity of 60 MLD will be constructed as part of the project. The pipeline project has a capacity of 170 MLD, and the rest will be arranged through other sources.
