Sindh govt presents budget 2016-17 with total outlay of Rs 869.12b

Sindh Finance Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Saturday presented the budget for the next financial year with a total outlay of Rs 869.12 billion while total revenue expenditure estimated to grow by 13.8 per cent to Rs 572.76 billion in the next financial year.

The receipts of the province will increase by 17.61 per cent to Rs 854.50 billion for the financial year 2016-17 over current budget estimate of Rs 726.57 billion. The receipts from federal divisible pool taxes comprising 67.8 per cent of total tax and non-tax receipts of the province are estimated for Rs 493.2 billion, the provincial finance minister said.

The provincial budget focuses on revenue generation, employment generation, agriculture development and development of rural as well as urban areas, he said.

Shah said that total revenue expenditure is estimated to grow by 13.8 per cent to Rs 572.76 billion in the next financial year.

Annual Development Programme:

The finance minister said that Rs 224 billion have been allocated for the annual development programme for the next fiscal year.

An additional Rs 50 billion has been allocated for the development of the province. The tax revenue target has been set up at Rs 154 billion. Rs 80 billion have been allocated for law and order and Rs 42 billion for the local government.

Agriculture allocation:

The Sindh government allocated an additional Rs 6.7 billion for agriculture while Rs 18.7 billion is allocated for the irrigation department.

Increase in Salaries and Pensions:

In the new provincial budget, ten per cent adhoc raise has been proposed in the salaries and pensions of the current and retired government employees. The budget also proposes upgradation of employees of various scales. Minimum wage in the province has been increased to Rs 14,000 from existing Rs 13,000.

Education Sector:

The government has earmarked Rs 164 billion for education, including Rs 151 billion for non-development and Rs 13 billion for development expenditure.

Some key projects will be launched in the education sector, including Memon Goth Engineering College in Karachi, 25 o-level schools and 25 comprehensive schools.

Health Sector:

In the fiscal year 2016-17, Rs 79 billion of the budget has been proposed for the health sector, including Rs 65 billion for non-development and Rs 14 billion for development expenses. Seven Taluka hospitals will also be upgraded in the province.

Karachi Mega Projects:

In the Annual Development Programme, Rs 50.5 billion have been earmarked for over a dozen mega projects in Karachi division, including K-4 water project, S-3, Orange Line bus project and a number of flyovers and underpasses.

Water, Power and Gas Projects:

The Sindh government allocated Rs 6 billion for K-4 water project. An amount of Rs 10 billion has been allocated for water supply schemes in Thar coal fields.

A budget has also been earmarked for installation of 50 ROs in Thar. Rs 2.75 billion has been allocated for various power and gas supply schemes in villages.

New Jobs and Police recruitment:

The minister also announced that the provincial government will recruit 50,000 government employees and 20,000 policemen in the next fiscal year. Rs 83.3 billion have been allocated for the law and order increasing the budget for law and order by 14.4 per cent in comparison to the ongoing financial year.

The Sindh cabinet in a meeting on Friday approved the budgetary proposals. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah signed the finance bill for the fiscal year 2016-17.

The members of the opposition political parties in the Sindh Assembly met before the budget session on Saturday to chalk out their strategy for the budget debate.

The provincial finance minister continued his budget speech amid opposition members’ slogans forcing him to be silent.

The opposition leaders earlier criticised the government and said that the Sindh government has failed to spend the budget allocations in the current financial year. It only spent around 40 per cent of the development budget reflecting the inefficiency and non-serious attitude of the provincial administration towards the people of Sindh, they said.