Discussion on Punjab budget begins.

LAHORE -- The process for approval of Punjab budget for the year 22-2 began in the Punjab Assembly as the government submitted 4 demands for grants worth approximately Rs,8 billion on Wednesday.

The opposition submitted cut motions against six demands for grants. The cut motions against grants for food and agriculture departments were rejected by a majority vote while two demands worth over Rs88 billion were passed by the House.

The proceedings started as usual with a delay of one and half hours under the chair of Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi. The opposition submitted cut motions on food and grain, agriculture, police, education, health and miscellaneous. Only two of these were debated in the House.

Food Minister Abdul Aleem Khan, while opposing the opposition's cut motion, said that those who have been ruling for 3 years are asking us why they did not build dams. He said for the third time, the farmers got full price of their wheat as his department set a target of 4.5 million tons for wheat procurement to ensure food security.

He said at present the food department is in a deficit of Rs55 billion. He hoped the farmer...