LAHORE: The Punjab government will present Rs1.73 trillion budget for the fiscal year 2016-17 on June 10 (Friday).
The budget as compared with last year’s outlay of Rs 1.45 trillion would have almost 10 percent more allocations for Annual Development Programme to Rs163 billion against the previous year’s Rs 409 billion.
Provincial revenue during FY17 is expected to be Rs 324 billion while Rs 784.5 billion are likely to be received from federal government under National Finance Commission (NFC) award.
Over Rs 363 billion will be allocated for development, Rs 130 billion for education, Rs 870 billion for non-development expenditure, Rs 18 billion for the power sector, Rs 125 for the social sector and Rs 44 billion for the services sector.
According to budget documents, Rs79 billion will be allocated for roads, Rs15 billion for water supply and sanitation, Rs 610 million for social welfare department, and Rs 570 million for women development. Rs 41 billion will be allocated for irrigation, Rs23 billion for special package for CM, Rs23 billion filtration plant for drinking water and Rs30 billion for projects established with the foreign investment.
The police will get Rs13 billion in the upcoming budget, while Rs10 billion will go for northern part of Ring Road in Lahore. Rs7 billion will be earmarked for Knowledge Park, Rs6 billion for distribution of laptops, Rs7 billion for missing facilities in schools and Rs5b for expansion of canal road in Lahore. The budget will also announce Rs50 billion under farmers package for the year 2016-17.
According to provincial Finance Minister Dr Ayesha Ghaus Pasha, as per the vision of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the Economic Growth Strategy has been drafted and its main targets are to increase the economic growth of the province from 7 per cent to 8 per cent by 2018, create 10,000 jobs for the youth annually, double the private investment in the province by 2018, eliminate terrorism to ensure protection of life and property of the citizens and bringing the exports percentage to 15 per cent.
