PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s provincial cabinet met on Tuesday, with Chief Minister Pervez Khattak in chair, to approve the annual budget having a total outlay of Rs505 billion for fiscal year 2016-17.

“No new tax has been proposed in the budget,” special assistant to chief minister on information Mushtaq Ghani said while giving details of the budget.

In the new budget, he continued, a special fund of Rs200 million has also been earmarked for the welfare of transgender community of the province for the first time in the budget history of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Presenting the annual budget for fiscal year 2016-17 at the floor of KP Assembly, Provincial Minister for Finance Muzaffar Syed advocate said Rs10 billion for 64 ongoing and Rs2.42 billion for eight new projects have been earmarked in the budget.

In his budget speech the finance minister stated that the province is expected to obtain Rs380 billion from the federal tax assignments, Rs293 billion as one per cent of divisible pool for war on terror, Rs35 billion as straight transfer, Rs17 billion as net hydel profit, Rs18 billion as arrears of net hydel profit and Rs15 billion million as incentive on surplus cash balance.

The finance minister further said 160 new primary schools and 100 new secondary schools would be constructed in the province whereas 100 religious seminaries would be converted into primary schools.

The KP government has decided to allocate Rs33 billion for the local governments during the next fiscal, Syed said, adding that the province will generate Rs15 billion from its own resources under sales tax on services sector.

The minister said KP will generate Rs3.5 billion from its own power generation in the coming fiscal.

Salary, pension increase by 10pc

While revealing the salary package for government employees Syed announced the merger of 10 per cent interim allowance of 2013-14 into the basic running pay of the provincial government employees. He further announced a 10 per cent increase in salaries of the government employees.

The provincial finance minister also announce a 10 per cent increase in the pension of retired employees and 25 per cent increase in the pension for the employees having more than 85 years age. The rise in salaries, pension and allowance would cost Rs14.20 billion to provincial exchequer.