PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa finance department has proposed to the provincial government to convene budget session of the provincial assembly on October 4 to approve budgetary allocations for the remaining eight months of the year, according to sources said.

The PTI government in its previous tenure could not present the annual budget owing to its thin majority in the provincial assembly; therefore, the caretaker government had to authorise expenditures for first quarter of the new fiscal. On June 28, interim government approved about Rs200 billion interim budget.

However, sources in the finance department told Dawn that after the formation of the government, the department asked it to convene budget session of the house on October 4.

“It is now up to the government whether it is agreeing to it or not,” an official told Dawn.

CM chairs meeting to review ADP schemes in different departments

Officials in the finance department said since the federal budget had already been announced earlier that year, it made their job easier as they knew what they were going to get from the centre. “It makes our jobs easier as according to budget documents, KP would receive Rs426 billion as federal tax receipts,” they added.

Earlier, the provincial finance department has projected the provincial budget at Rs598 billion as compared to Rs605 for the previous year. The Annual Development Programme was pitched at Rs159 billion.

Separately, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Tuesday chaired a review meeting of ADP schemes in public health engineering, works and services, irrigation and health departments at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.

A statement issued here said that the chief minister directed the officials to plan efficient utilisation of surface water resources for agriculture produce, rainwater storage for raising the water table and using it for irrigating barren land, cutting down the non-developmental expenditure to create fiscal space for timely completion of public welfare projects in education, health and social sectors.

“The share of the districts having natural resources should be used in the infrastructure development, provision of drinking water, improving sanitation, efficient healthcare, education and infrastructure development in the respective districts,” he said.

Mr Khan stressed the need for effective strategy to bring the backward areas of the province at par with the developed ones. He directed the officials to work out all the outstanding dues of the province against the federal government that included royalty on net hydel power, oil and gas and others.

He said that the respective departments should take up the cases of transfers of resources to the province with the quarters concerned at federal level to facilitate smooth and timely completion of projects in the province.

Mr Khan asked the officials to prioritise projects in public health engineering, works and services, irrigation and health sectors so that the same could be completed timely to facilitate people.

He assured the departments of provision of resources for the expeditious completion of public welfare projects, saying the province had the fiscal space for those schemes.

The chief minister also directed the officials concerned for collection of irrigation tax, restoration of special powers previously held by different departments and channeling and lining of irrigation channels. He asked the finance department to make allocation for different packages in roads, communication and flood protection, conditioning the whole process to the legal framework worked out by the province. Mr Khan also directed the officials concerned to plan a comprehensive package for the southern districts of the province.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2018