The Punjab Finance Department proposed a 20 per cent increase in the salaries of government employees in the Punjab budget of the new financial year 2024-25.
According to the 24NewsHD TV channel, the sources said the 20 per cent increase in the salaries will be for ad hoc relief and there will be no increase in the basic salary of government employees.
The sources in the finance department also said that a 15 per cent increase in pension is proposed.
The channel reported that the Punjab Budget 2024-25 will be presented on June 12 as the Punjab Finance Department has sent the summary of the Punjab Budget session to the law department on that date.
The volume of the Punjab budget for the next financial year (FY) 2024-25 will be Rs53.9 trillion. Punjab is likely to receive Rs3700 billion from the federal government, while Rs1027 billion has been set as the tax collection target in the budget under the head of income generation.
Similarly, the Punjab government has earmarked Rs597 billion for salaries and Rs447 billion for pensions of its employees in the budget.
There is a proposal to allocate Rs800 billion for development projects, Rs30 billion for the Ramadan Package, Rs8 billion for the CBD, Rs600 billion for the education sector and Rs406 billion for the health sector.
Likewise, an allocation of Rs9.8 billion has been recommended for the chief minister’s Roshan Gharana programme.
As per the details, the provincial government has estimated that Rs841 billion will be spent on service delivery during the next FY.
Similarly, there is a proposal to set aside Rs7 billion in the budget for Apna Ghar programme, and Rs40 billion for the Green Pakistan Initiative.
The Punjab government also plans to set up an endowment fund for journalists for which there is a proposal to earmark Rs1 billion.
The Punjab Revenue Authority has been given the target to collect Rs300 billion, while the target set for the Board of Revenue is Rs105 billion and for the Excise Department is Rs55 billion. Similarly, Rs121 billion have been allocated to repay loans.
Reporter: Ali Ramey