Lauds departments utilization of funds under ADP 2020-21 as ‘remarkable’
Staff Reporter
Punjab Chief Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal has directed all the departments to ensure timely utilization of funds and ensure transparency in development schemes.
He issued these directives while presiding over a meeting at the Planning and Development (P&D) Department held to review the implementation of the annual development program (ADP) worth Rs560 billion.
Speaking at the meeting, the Chief Secretary stated that an efficient monitoring system is a key to the timely and transparent utilisation of public funds. He said that progress on uplift projects would be reviewed on a regularly basis.
He directed the officers to keep an eye on quality, and pace of work on all the schemes. He said that the departments should identify obstacles in the way of development projects so that these could be removed as soon as possible.
The Chief Secretary also appreciated the efforts of the P&D Board for timely approval of development schemes.
He said that the performance of the departments in terms of utilization of funds in the ADP 2020-21 was ‘remarkable’.
Secretary P&D Mujahid Sher Dil briefed the meeting about the allocated funds, their releases, and utilization. He said that out of 4676 unapproved schemes, 4259 schemes have been approved, and Rs. 205 billion of total Rs 560 have been released.
He said that the provincial government has allocated 35 percent of the annual development program for South Punjab while it earmarked Rs. 54.2 billion for education and Rs. 95.9 billion for the health sector.
Chairman P&D Abdullah Khan Sumbal said that the use of funds should be expedited at the level of expenditure. He said that as per the direction of Chief Minister Punjab, the departments should work hard to complete the development projects within the stipulated time, adding that a third-party audit of all schemes would be carried out.
The administrative secretaries of all departments, members of the P&D board, and officers concerned attended the meeting.
Meanwhile, mega initiative of Punjab Government for ADP 2021-22 “Implementation of Universal Health Insurance under Health Insurance Program in Punjab” costing Rs332 billion was discussed at PPDWP in Planning and Development Board under the chairmanship of Chairman P&D Board Mr. Abdullah Khan Sumbal.
The objective of the scheme is to provide Health Insurance for in-door healthcare services to all citizens of the province, to reduce Out-Of-Pocket (OOP) expenditure on indoor healthcare services by insured families, to reduce catastrophic health expenditure of insured families for in-patient hospitalization, and to implement equality of basic healthcare services across the population.
Prior to this, a series of consultative sessions was held in SHC&ME Department, Finance Department, and the P&D Board.
The Board of Directors of PHIMC recommended the PC-I of Universal Health Insurance at the cost of Rs. 332 billion and submitted to the P&D Board through SHC&ME Department.
It is pertinent to mention that the implementation of Health Insurance for 100% population in all the 36 Districts of Punjab has to be completed by December 2021.
