Rs 1.5tr development outlay approved for next year

After addressing the concerns of smaller provinces, the meeting of National Economic Council (NEC) on Monday approved Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate target of 5.5 percent and Rs 1.514 trillion development outlay, including Rs 700 billion as federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) and Rs 814 billion as provincial Annual Development Program (ADP) for the financial year 2015-16.

The NEC meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and attended by the chief ministers of all the four provinces along with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) governor and Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister. Federal and provincial ministers and secretaries of Finance, Planning and Water and Power ministries also attended the meeting along with other senior government officials.

Growth target for agriculture has been set at 3.9 percent, manufacturing at 6.1 percent and services at 5.7 percent, while exports target has been set as $25.5 billion.

An informed source said the federal government acceded to the Sindh government’s demand of enhancing the federal share in the vertical projects of health and social sectors. The Sindh government was of the opinion that without the announcement of the new National Finance Commission (NFC) award, provinces were not in a position to finance health and social sector projects.

On the occasion, the prime minister directed that funds for projects being funded by the federal government should be properly allocated to priority projects in complete coordination with provincial governments to ensure optimum utilisation of funds and to reduce chances of duplication.

The approved development spending for centre is Rs 554 billion, including a foreign exchange component of Rs 146 billion, along with Rs 452 billion for Punjab, Rs 192 billion for Sindh, Rs 124 billion for KP and Rs 45 billion for Balochistan.

During the next financial year, the major allocations include Rs 266 billion for ministries and divisions, Rs 256 billion for NHA and corporations and Rs 100 billion for internally displaced persons (IDPs).

An allocation of Rs 72 billion has been made for the power sector, out of which Rs 45 billion have been allocated for Dasu Power Project, Rs 21 billion for Bhasha Dam and Rs 32 billion for irrigation projects. NHA has been given Rs 184 billion for highway projects.

Moreover, PM’s Youth Program has been allocated Rs 20 billion, Special Federal Development Programme has Rs 30 billion, MDG has Rs 20 billion, Railways has Rs 41 billion, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) has Rs 30 billion, with 20.5 billion for Higher Education Commission (HEC), Rs 20 billion for National Health Services, Rs 19.7 billion for SAFRON and Rs 24 billion AJK and GB.

Furthermore, the meeting approved macroeconomic framework for Annual Plan for 2015-16. Progress report of Central Development Working Party (CDWP) from April 2014 to March 2015 was also presented before the NEC while the Planning Commission was authorised to publish the 11th five-year plan.