Punjab unveils Rs1.719 trillion budget for next four months

The Punjab caretaker government has unveiled a people-friendly and tax-free budget for the next four months with an outlay of Rs1.719 trillion, proposing a 30 percent increase in salaries of employees of all grades, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The caretaker cabinet which met under the chair of Chief Minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi earlier on Monday stamped the budget for the next four months with a surplus of Rs336 billion.

The provincial government has proposed a 30 percent increase in employees of all grades and five percent increase in pensions. However, there will be 20% hike in the pension of those who are over 80 years.

The budget was announced by Punjab Caretaker Minister for Information Amir Mir and Caretaker Minister for Industries, Commerce and Energy SM Tanveer at a joint news conference held in Lahore.

Presenting the Punjab budget, Amir Mir said there was an increase of 31 percent in education spending. He said the four-month Punjab budget will be Rs336 in surplus and the caretaker chief minister has decided to immediately retire Rs600 billion loans.

Minister said no new tax was introduced in the budget and one billion rupees have been allocated for setting up an endowment fund for the journalists.

According to the budget document, Punjab will get Rs3,645 billion from the federal budget under NFC Award while the revenue target has been set at Rs579 billion.

The province will get Rs30 billion under net hydel whereas it will received Rs240 billion from sales tax.

World environment agencies will provide Rs167 billion to the province while Rs70 billion have been spared for providing relief to the public.

The budget documents also allocate Rs65 billion for agriculture sector.

In the budget, Rs325 billion have been allocated for the development programme during the four months.

The caretaker cabinet spared Rs195 billion for education, Rs183 billion for health, Rs70 billion for social protection, Rs10 billion for PKLI, Rs8.8 for climate change, Rs1 billion for journalists endowment fund, Rs47 billion for agriculture development, Rs18 billion for irrigation and Rs5.3 billion for IT sector.

A decision had been made to withdraw all duties and taxes for promotion of business of Information Technology and education. Rs70 billion had been set aside for providing relief to people in four months.

The cabinet also rejected the recommendation to increase stamp duty up to 3 percent. Approval had been given to fix ratio of stamp duty to 1 percent for promotion of construction sector. Approval had been given to allocate more than Rs47 billion for the agriculture sector.

A decision had been made to complete 50 percent ongoing development projects in the first four months of new fiscal year.

Approval had been given to allocate Rs16 billion to make power plant functional that was closed in 2017. Approval had also been given to increase budget for education and health by 31 percent in four months.

Approval had also been given to set up Information Technology Park in Lahore with the name of Knowledge Park.

Punjab CM Mohsin Naqvi said that no new tax had been imposed in the Punjab budget. He appreciated the Punjab chief secretary, Planning and Development Board chairman, Punjab finance secretary and the team for presenting people-friendly budget.

Budget breakdown

• Rs426.87 billion has been allocated for ongoing development schemes previously approved by the former Punjab Assembly, as per the official budget document
• Additionally, Rs941.34 billion has been earmarked for current expenditures. In line with the federal government’s announcement in the federal budget, the interim setup intends to increase salaries and pensions in the province.
• The proposed budget allocates a total of Rs413 billion for salaries, pensions, and other expenses of government employees. The increased salaries and pensions will place an additional burden of Rs42 billion on the provincial exchequer
• Furthermore, the budget documents reveal that the Punjab government currently owes Rs565 billion to various banks and anticipates making a mark-up payment of Rs32 billion in the fiscal year 2023-24
• To formulate the budget for the four-month period and forecast projections for the entire fiscal year, the caretaker government established a Joint Priorities Committee (JPC). The JPC has already given its approval to the proposed budget, offering recommendations on the allocation of funds for various sectors
• As per the JPC’s proposals, Rs69.8 billion has been allocated for ongoing development schemes in higher education
• Rs4.64 billion for literacy and non-formal education, Rs64.84 billion for primary and secondary healthcare
• Rs58.21 billion for school education in province.Rs32.18 billion for industry, commerce, and trade, Rs11.44 billion for youth affairs and sports, Rs4.82 billion for tourism and archaeology, Rs8.81 billion for environmental protection projects, Rs3.41 billion for information and culture, Rs62.69 billion for irrigation, Rs2.3 billion for labor and human resources
• Rs24.26 billion for livestock and dairy development, Rs12.69 billion for population welfare, Rs5.47 billion for social welfare and Baitul-Mal, Rs1.85 billion for special education, Rs29.35 billion for transport, Rs10.6 billion for energy development projects, and Rs2.9 billion for women development.
• Furthermore, the JPC has proposed an allocation of Rs8.5 billion for urban development, Rs3 billion for law, order, and parliamentary affairs, Rs2.64 billion for local government and rural development, Rs5 billion for planning and development, Rs3.95 billion for the provincial assembly
• Rs19 billion for the Board of Revenue, Rs50 billion for Services and General Administration Department (S&GAD), Rs420 million for Zakat, Rs3 billion for prosecution, and Rs161 billion for the health department.
• In addition, the JPC has recommended allocating Rs161 billion for the police, Rs40 billion for agriculture, and Rs11 billion for Rescue-1122
• Other noteworthy proposals in the budget include Rs860 million for the chief minister’s house, Rs140 million for the CM inspection team, and Rs630 million for the governor’s secretariat expenses

With these comprehensive allocations across multiple sectors, the caretaker government aims to address the pressing needs of the province and provide a solid foundation for growth and development in Punjab.