MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government is set to unveil a deficit budget for FY2015-16 in the AJK Legislative Assembly on Monday.

Sources say the total volume of the budget is around Rs68 billion, of which Rs56.5 billion have been allocated for non-developmental or recurring expenditures and Rs11.5 billion for developmental activities.

The budget allocates 29 per cent of recurring and development expenditure for the education sector and eight per cent for health. Around 41 per cent of the Annual Development Programme, or the development budget, has been earmarked for communication and works and 11 per cent for the power sector. In budget for FY 2014-15, the government had proposed Rs51.5 billion and Rs10.5 billion for recurring and developmental expenditures, respectively.

However, recurring expenditures have been raised to Rs 55.424 billion, increasing the FY2014-15 budget deficit to Rs 10.521 billion.

On Monday, the government will also present a revised budget for the ongoing fiscal year, with a total volume of Rs 65.924 billion as against Rs 62 billion.

This is the fourth budget to be presented by the Pakistan Peoples Party government in AJK and will be presented by Minister for Finance, Planning and Development Chaudhry Latif Akbar.

Published in Dawn, June 15th, 2015

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