MUZAFFARABAD, June 18: AJK Finance Minister Raja Nisar Ahmed Khan presented a tax-free but deficit budget for fiscal 2005-06, in the Legislative Assembly, here on Saturday.

With a total outlay of Rs17,848.278 million, the budget proposes Rs12,748.278 million for non-development expenditures and Rs5,100 million, including a foreign aid of Rs1190.840 million, for the development purposes, which is eight per cent more than the current year’s allocation for this head.

The budget envisages a total income of Rs9,982.511 million. Of this Rs4,130 million would be generated from local resources such as excise and taxation, forests and electricity, Rs2,065 million from the AJK Council as 80 per cent share of the taxes collected from the AJK territory and Rs2,887.511 million from the Centre as AJK’s share in the federal taxes. In addition, Rs900 million were expected as Mangla Dam’s royalty.

The gap between income and expenditures, to the tune of Rs2765.767 million, would be bridged by the Pakistan government.

The minister said it was a development-oriented budget, emphasising uplift of the infrastructure, particularly the means of communications across the state. This was the reason that 27 per cent of the Annual Development Programme, Rs1,384 million, had been allocated for the communications sector and would be divided between the districts according to 80:20 (population: area) ratio.

He said work on the ongoing projects would be carried on in next financial year with a target to construct roads and bridges in different parts of the state.

The minister said the percentage of rural population in AJK was 88 per cent and the government had allocated Rs1,026 million for rural uplift, including a foreign aid of Rs512 million.

Of this allocation, he said, Rs15 million would go to rural water supply and sanitations schemes, Rs215 million to link roads and suspension bridges, Rs10 million each to construction of primary school buildings and LG&RD offices and Rs30 million to local bodies for their developmental schemes.

He said Rs84 million had been allocated to be equally spent in the existing 28 constituencies on the recommendation of the MLA concerned. Another Rs40 million were placed at the discretion of prime minister for his special directive programme, he added.

The minister said Rs602 million were earmarked for World Bank-funded Community Infrastructure Services Programme and Rs270 million for AJK Community Development Programme, also a foreign aided project. He said Rs10 million each had been proposed for two other foreign aided projects and Rs20 million for the Kashmir Development Programme.

He asserted that the government’s policy was to ensure community participation in these schemes right from selection to execution and completion.

Apart from it, he said a number of rehabilitation projects were being launched in different sectors under the Asian Development Bank-funded multi sector rehabilitation and improvement project in AJK.

He said Rs450 million had been earmarked for the electricity department to carry on and complete its schemes in next year.

By the end of next financial year, he said, 99 per cent villages and 80 per cent population in the AJK would have the facility of electricity.

Of the hydel power generation, he said 36mw power was being generated in the AJK and efforts were continue to exploit the remaining potential through private and public sector. He said Rs50 million had been allocated for the ongoing projects of AJK Hydro Electric Board.