Punjab Assembly passes supplementary budget with majority.

LAHORE -- The Punjab Assembly on Tuesday passed supplementary budget worth Rs107 billion for the Year 2019: 20 with majority.

The approved 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).

The session started one hour and 55 minutes behind the scheduled time with Speaker Ch Parvez Elahi in the chair. Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar also joined House proceedings and thanked the members for passing of the budget. He said for the first time assembly proceedings were being held outside the Punjab Assembly building due to the epidemic. He said he and his team worked honestly during the pandemic and got tested more than 500000 suspect cases.He said there is no shortage of medicines for coronavirus and more than 9000 beds have been added to hospitals for tackling corona patients an additional allowance has been given to the doctors fighting on the front line against the virus.

He said funds worth Rs2 billion were released for eradication of locust. He announced three months additional salary for the employees of assembly finance and law departments. Taking part in the discussion on supplementary budget PML: Ns Tahir Khalil Sindhu opposed extra funds for the police department saying the force has failed to maintain law and order particularly in and around Lahore.

Law Minister Raja Basharat said that Mr Sindhu should also mention killing of 17 innocent people in Model Town in 2014 when the PML: N was in power. He said...