PESHAWAR, June 16: The NWFP finance minister on Saturday presented in the provincial assembly a Rs114.5 billion budget for 2007-08, which shows a deficit of Rs5.489 billion.

A record Annual Development Programme of Rs39.462 billion was the highlight of Finance Minister Shah Raz Khan’s budget speech. Journalists staged a walkout during the finance minister’s budget speech to protest against the withholding of the budget document.

The budget carries no new tax, proposes a 15-20 per cent increase in government employees’ salary and inclusion of fixed-pay employees of grade-1 in the contributory provident fund. The budget also proposes a 32 per cent subsidy on electricity bills of tube wells and expansion of social safety net scheme announced last year.

The increase in government employees’ salary will put an extra burden of Rs2.5 billion on the provincial government.

Other budget proposals include exemption of widows from property tax in urban areas, and a reduction in stamp duty on land valuation and House Building Finance Corporation loans and gifts which have now been brought down from 5.5 per cent to 4.5, 4 per cent to 3 per cent and 3 per cent to 2 per cent, respectively.

The budget consists of three categories, with 46 per cent to be spent on its welfare component, 15 per cent to be spent on administrative expenditures and 39 per cent to be spent on development projects.

The current revenue for the next financial year has been projected at Rs80.579 billion, which is 21 per cent higher than the revised receipts for the outgoing financial year.

Of the total revenue receipts, the provincial government will receive Rs47.630 billion from the federal divisible pool, Rs3.013 billion in straight transfers, Rs11.907 billion as subvention, Rs5.807 billion as GST share for district governments and Rs6.2 billion as province’s own receipts. Unlike its previous practice, the provincial government projected the proceeds from net hydel profits at Rs6 billion.

During the past three years, the provincial government had been pitching Rs8 billion under this component, following a verbal commitment by former prime minister Zaffarullah Khan Jamali, subsequently sustaining a deficit of Rs2 billion every year.

Apart from current revenue receipts, Rs5.4 billion on account of current capital receipts, Rs6.7 billion as receipts from Account-II and Rs16.3 billion as developmental receipts will put the overall receipts of the provincial government at Rs109 billion.

The target for the current revenue expenditures has been put at Rs61 billion, which is almost 10 per cent higher than the revised estimates for the outgoing fiscal year.

Likewise, Rs7.2 billion, Rs39.462 billion and Rs6.844 billion has been estimated on accounts of current capital, development and Account-II expenditures. This puts the size of the total expenditure at Rs114.507 billion.

Major components of current expenditures and their respective allocations are: Rs16.110 billion for general administration, Rs6.387 billion for law and order, Rs4.01 billion for economic affairs, Rs433.571 million for environmental protection, Rs75.364 million for housing and community services, Rs2.717 billion for health, Rs181.482 million for entertainment, culture and religious affairs, Rs2.571 billion for education and Rs303.769 million for social protection.

An amount of Rs28.207 billion will be transferred to district governments in the next fiscal year, which is almost six per cent higher than the revised estimates for the outgoing fiscal year.

The total revenue shortfall for the next financial year is estimated at Rs5.489 billion, 44 per cent higher than the revised budget deficit for fiscal year 2006-07.

The minister claimed that the deficit would be converted into surplus after receiving World Bank’s Rs7.8 billion tranche under Development Policy Credit. According to sources, the international lending agency had approved the loan last week and the amount would be received next month.

In next financial year, the minister said, unemployed youth, who had completed post-graduate studies from public sector universities, would be entitled for a monthly stipend of Rs2,000. In the outgoing fiscal, the amount was Rs1,000 a month.

Similarly, the government will continue to give a monthly stipend of Rs500 to senior citizens in Kohistan, Battagram and Shangla districts.

The budget envisages an ambitious ADP of Rs39.46 billion that is almost 26 per cent higher than the revised ADP for the outgoing fiscal year. Major components of the next year’s ADP are: Rs21.94 billion for core provincial ADP, Rs7.98 for foreign-funded projects, Rs8.338 billion from federal government projects reflected in the Public Sector Development Programme and Rs 1.204 billion for the districts’ ADP.

http://www.dawn.com/2007/06/17/top4.htm

http://www.dawn.com/2007/06/17/top4.htm

Now take a look at this data:

Provincial Populations:

Punjab - 74 million people
Sindh - 31 million people
NWFP - 18 million people
Balouchistan - 7 million people

http://www.statpak.gov.pk/depts/pco/statis...y_province.html

Provisional Budgets:

Punjab - Rs 393 billion
Sindh - Rs 232 billion (est)
NWFP - Rs 115 billion
Balouchistan - Rs 70 billion (est)

http://www.thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=24270
http://www.thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=24322
http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=58892

Stats:

Population Ratio: Assuming a single unit is 7 million people the current population distribution across Pakistan is as such.

Punjab - 10.5 (lots of 7 million people)
Sindh - 4.4 (lots of 7 million people)
NWFP - 2.5 (lots of 7 million people)
Balouchistan - 1 (lots of 7 million people)

Budget Ratio:Assuming a single unit is 70 billion Rs

Punjab - 5.6 (lots of 70 billion)
Sindh - 3.3 (lots of 70 billion)
NWFP - 1.6 (lots of 70 billion)
Balouchistan - 1 (lots of 70 billion)

Now i know the numbers aren't perfect....but when you compare the sizes of the provinces (population terms) against the budgets they get, nobody is being robbed... so why do we always get the complaining? Is nobody in Pakistan capable of procuding better stats than this crude example i have just made?! I don't get ppl!

I personally think that its punjab who is gets rapped and then blamed too.

sindh has twice of sarhad's population and sindh gets almost twice of sarhad. punjab has the population more than 4 times of nwfp and our budget is lesser than 4 times of NWFP.

lol, exactly, yet still people will complain.

fair enough i understand in places like Balouchistan NWFP more money is needed because of how far back they are, but i think it's evident that the need is being met.

That looks pretty fair. you forgot to write ajk budget.i think it around 25 billion ruppes
it is true that balochistan is very poor etc. but i think punjab budget should not be decreased cz it is heart of pakistan.if you knw what i mean.ie got most population etc.

The thing is that ppl like altaf make it seem like punjab is taking everybody else's right and all that in order to gain political support. And look at our jahil awam, we can be divided so easily

All the complaining and bullcrap should stop once our economy really kicks into high gear.
Exciting times!!

yea true brother, these leaders are all same i think. they jus put punjab v sindh etc all the time.as i heard.to be honest even if punjab was gettin more budget or even less it shouldnt matter i think cz sumtime maybe the government have to decrease or increase budget to meet the target. i mean jus say balochistan realllly really needed money and gov thinks, dis year we spend more on balochistan 2 improve it den next year we spend more on sindh or punjab etc.so it all depends what the govenment thinks.but these days what can u say.government is worse than anyone.plus leaders jus lie n lie 2 jus get some votes. i mean if u now days look at pakistan.every oppsition leader h8 every1.they jus wna kill each other.so stupid.i think every1 jus divided.if pakistan wants to become successfull.islam is needed to be honest.cz it shows people how to care etc. if you look at all thees leaders these days, musharaff, bb, nawaz shareef.altaf or what ever there name is.they all same.jus in some areas one is better and other is weak.

I agree with gladiator, Pakistanis are a jahil people and Punjab gets blamed because its effective politics.

pakistan needs to spend the most in education sector, in ALL provinces, because that is the only thign that can TRULY gurantee a properpous Pakistan in the future.