PA approves Rs107bn supplementary grants.

LAHORE -- The Punjab Assembly approved supplementary budget worth Rs107 billion for the year 2019-20 before the session was prorogued sine die here on Tuesday.

The supplementary grants included procurement of grain (Rs65bn), health services (Rs12.88bn), police (Rs13.84bn), relief (Rs8.15 billion), and construction of roads and bridges (Rs6.28bn).

Proceedings of the session began around two hours late than its scheduled time of 2pm with Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi in the chair.

Former provincial minister Tahir Khalil Sindhu reopened discussion on the supplementary budget and talked about the deteriorating law and order situation, particularly in and around the Punjab capital, while opposing extra funds for the police department.

Law Minister Basharat Raja intervened and sarcastically said Mr Sindhu should also include the '17 killings' of Model Town incident that took place in 2014 when the PML-N was in power, in his speech. He said those shot dead in Model Town were not animals.

Mr Sindhu asked if the Sahiwal tragedy, in which four of a family had been gunned down by law enforcers in broad daylight in 2019, also took place during the PML-N regime. 'Where are accused of Sahiwal tragedy?' he asked as the chair barred further discussion on the issue.

Ex-health minister Khwaja Imran Nazir, while referring to supplementary grant for health, said that the government should have enhanced budget for the department in proportionate to the devaluation of rupee against dollar.

He said a sum of Rs910 million had been set aside for free dialysis facility last year but only Rs210m were released and 'God knows how much of the amount was spent on the patients.' This year, he pointed out, only Rs670m have been apportioned for free dialysis.

Referring to opposition to use of...