
Rs509b supplementary budget passed
The opposition protested over the removal its four members as chairpersons of standing committees.
Finance Minister Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman said the supplementary budget of this year was of about Rs510 billion, adding that the government had allocated Rs266.6 billion for development.
He said the government had preferred the development projects to serve the people rather than salaries.
He said the government had spent Rs126 billion on the road network. The demands for grant in the supplementary budget include over Rs46 billion for the police department, Rs3 billion for irrigation, Rs16 billion for health services, Rs13 billion for public health and Rs4 billion for agriculture.
The opposition's five cut motions were rejected in the absence of its members.

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