LAHORE: The budget debate in the Punjab Assembly on Wednesday turned out to be more of a self-critique: `Why we are spending millions of rupees of taxpayers` money on preand postbudget sessions if this House can neither suggest any expenditure nor is there any oversight on the spending throughout the year.

Would the provincial finance minister care to tell how many of the suggestions made by this House were accepted and which part of the budget was based on them? How much of the last budget was actually utilised? Who diverted funds? Who permitted the diversion and why? The opposition was relentless in questions.

The Treasury members were not far behind with complaints of theirown. After eulogising their leadership for its political and financial sagacity in the budget making, each one of them had a list of unsatisfied development demands for their constituencies, which had not found space in the finance bill.

The members from south Punjab were particularly perturbed over gross under-development that their areas are suffering. Khwaja Nizamul-Mahmood of the PPP (from DG Khan) summed it up when he said: `If the Punjab government cannot spare funds for south, please attach the area to Balochistan so that we could at least get some development budget.

Dr Waseem Akhtar of the Jamaat-i-Islami was spot on when he claimed that 67pc of the entire development funds were spent on Lahore alone. `Lahore is our city and very dear to us, but other areas are also part of the province,` heregretted. For the last four years, allocations are made for Bahawalpur Ring Road but, according to the commissioner, they are not allowed to spend them and return the money each year to divert to other priority projects.

`Before presenting the current budget, the provincial minister for finance should have first educated the House on the utilisation percentageforthelastone.Sheshould have told why only 40pc of the Rs47 billion allocation for the school education was spent. Why health budget utilisation remained only 36pc. Why only 46pc of the budget for energy was spent.

Where has the rest of the money gone?` `In fact, the entire money was diverted to the Orange Line Train project, leaving every other sector short of money. If these were the utilisation percentagesfor the lastyear, why all these sectors have been given additional money this year? he wondered aloud.

Waqas Hassan Moakal of the Opposition was more blunt: `Let`s have some accountability of the House as well what this House has accomplished in the last four years and at what cost to the provincial exchequer? It is full of either praising verbosity or careless criticism of each other`s leadership. Is this sufficient? Is it this we are here for? The members are elected by their constituents for service. Are they living up to their assignment? These are serious issues and have direct bearing on the respect of the House and its members.

Some other members also spoke on the issue and contributed to a listless debate. The debate will continue today (Thursday) when the House meets at 11am.