PTI Govt Successfully Alleviating Rural Poverty: Lawmakers

LAHORE, (Muzaffargarh.City – 5th Aug, 2019 ) :Lawmakers on Monday said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf central and provincial governments, through various projects, were successfully reducing rural poverty in the country.

MNA Muhammad Khan Leghari told APP that ‘Ehsaas’ (compassion) programme of the Federal government was the first step towards poverty alleviation by amending Article 38(D) of the Constitution which included a clause regarding providing people with food, shelter, clothing, education and taking care of their health.

“Prime Minister Imran Khan’s ‘Mazdoor-Ka-Ehsaas’ initiative was another landmark programme for social protection and poverty alleviation,” he added.

Leghari said that the federal government had undertaken welfare of overseas Pakistanis under the Ehsaas initiative as it was making efforts to strengthen the labour market and has a plan to create 10 million jobs over five years in key sectors like housing, SMEs, ICT, health, education, green economy and tourism, etc.

In this connection, the Punjab government has released Rs 52 billion for various schemes and a comprehensive mechanism has been devised for monitoring of the development projects, which will help eliminate poverty in the province.

Advisor to Punjab CM on Health Muhammad Hanif Pitafi said that South Punjab Poverty Alleviation Project (SPPAP) was successfully reducing overall rural poverty in the region. It is for the first time in the history of the province that the Punjab government is achieving its goals through economic growth and poverty alleviation, he added.

In the second phase of the project, assisted by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the provincial government is working on rural poverty reduction, in six districts Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Muzaffargarh, Rajanpur, Rahimyar Khan and DG Khan in the region, MPA Sajid Ahmad Khan Bhatti said on Monday.

The SPPAP is designed to assist the government to achieve its objectives of economic growth and poverty alleviation, he added.

Planning and Development Department sources told APP that 35 per cent of the budget this year has been allocated for south Punjab, which is a good omen. “Through these funds, mega projects would be initiated in health, education, industry, agriculture and other sectors,” they added.