June 21, 2003	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 20,1424

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

QUETTA, June 20: Balochistan Finance Minister Syed Ehsan Shah on Friday presented a Rs34.83 billion budget for financial year 2003-04 in the provincial assembly, which shows an overall deficit of Rs2.47 billion.

speaker Syed Jamal Shah presided over the session.

At the start of the session, 14 opposition members belonging to Pukhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, People’s Party Parliamentarians and Balochistan National Movement staged a protest against the LFO and the president’s decision to hold the office of the chief of army staff. The opposition members thumped their desks and chanted slogans for 10 minutes. Later, they walked out.

No new tax had been imposed in the next year’s budget. The finance minister also announced a 15 per cent increase in the salaries of the government employees, for which the provincial government would have to spend Rs1.5 billion.

While giving details of the estimated income and expenditure of the province during the next fiscal year, Ehsan Shah spoke about the problems being faced by the government because of sharing of resources with the district governments, falling income from surcharges on oil and gas, and reduction in the population ratio of the province because of boycott of population census in some parts of Balochistan.

In his review of the 2002-03 budget, the finance minister disclosed that incomes estimated at the time of presentation of budget had fallen, while expenditures had gone up, and eventually a cut had to be applied on the development programme during the current fiscal year. Still, the current year ended with an overall deficit of Rs5.16 billion.

During the next fiscal year, the minister said, a Balochistan Constabulary force comprising 10,000 personnel would be created. He said this force would ensure law and order and provide job opportunities to the local people.

He also announced the setting up of a Balochistan bank for which Rs100 million had been allocated in the budget.

The next year’s budget shows current revenue expenditures of Rs25.53 billion and a development outlay of Rs9.30 billion. Ehsan Shah expressed the hope that the provincial government would be able to obtain $100 million resource management programme loan from the Asian Development Bank.

From this amount, which is equivalent to Rs5.80 billion in Pakistani currency, the finance minister allocated Rs3 billion for retirement of loans and Rs1.80 billion to finance development programme during the next fiscal year.

The minister estimated next year’s total revenue income at Rs24.64 billion. The highest amount of Rs9.01 billion would come as Balochistan’s share in the federal divisible pool, Rs5.96 billion are grants, Rs8.13 billion in the shape of direct transfers on account of provincial share in royalty, excise and development surcharge on oil and gas and Rs1.53 billion would be provincial revenue generation.

Total revenue expenditure for the next fiscal has been pitched at Rs25.53 billion. It includes Rs2.82 billion debt servicing. But the provincial government wants to defer payment of Rs2 billion debt servicing which has been shown in the budget account, bringing down the overall expenditure to Rs23.53 billion.

After making adjustments with capital receipts and expenditure, the minister announced a revenue surplus of Rs535.8 million for the next fiscal year. This assumptive revenue surplus has been shown as one of the financing sources of Rs9.30 billion development programme for the next fiscal year.

The other sources of financing development programme included Rs2.80 billion from the $100 million expected loan, Rs1.19 billion foreign assistance, Rs1.30 billion from drought emergency resource assistance and prime minister’s special package worth Rs1 billion.

Total development programme included Rs7 billion ADP with operational shortfall of Rs971 million, Rs1.30 Dera and Rs1 billion PM special package.

While recounting resource constraints that hit the development programme in the outgoing fiscal, Ehsan Shah said the federal government was investing over Rs15 billion in 16 projects in the province under the PSDP during the next fiscal year.

He also announced increase in the medical allowance of the provincial government employees from Rs160 a month to Rs210 from next July. This will have a total impact of Rs85 million. Senior officers in grade 20 to 22 have been given a raise in the entertainment and senior post allowance which would increase the expenditures by Rs300,000.