PM seeks another Rs 10b for development budget

Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has sought additional funds of Rs 10 billion for his annual discretionary development budget to spend in selected constituencies.
The PM had already received Rs 32 billion within a short span of time to spend on selected constituencies to win sympathies of voters in the upcoming general elections. A high ranking official said the PM’s Secretariat had issued another direction to the Finance Ministry and Planning Commission for the arrangement of an additional Rs 10 billion for the prime minister’s annual discretionary development budget, which would take the PM’s total to Rs 42 billion this year. The official said the Planning Commission would place a cut on development budgets allocated for various sectors, including education and water and power, to accommodate the prime minister’s development budget.
The PM had used up his annual discretionary development budget of Rs 22 billion in the first three-and-a-half months of the financial year 2012-13 and had sought an additional Rs 10 billion that were was released last month. Sources said Rs 4 billion from the additional amount was withdrawn from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata’s) development budget.
The official said the release of Rs 32 billion to the prime minister had been made under Peoples’ Works Programme (PWP- II), which was part of the overall Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).