PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government will present the over Rs410 billion budget for the remaining eight months of the current financial year in the provincial assembly on Oct 11.

Sources told Dawn that most of the funds were likely to go to the ongoing development project, while only small budgetary allocations would be made for new projects.

They said the finance department had worked out the budget figures but the size of the annual development programme (ADP) had turned out to be a sticking point between the finance department and planning and development department.

The last elected government didn’t announce the 2018-19 budget for having thin majority in the provincial assembly prompting the former caretaker government to present an interim budget for the current fiscal’s from July to October.

Ongoing uplift projects likely to get most funds

Towards the end of June, the caretakers appropriated the current expenditure amounting to Rs198 billion for the four months of the year, including over Rs53 billion for ongoing development schemes.

After the expenditure authorisation by the caretakers, the outlay of the 2018-19 budget totaled over Rs610 billion.

Sources told Dawn that the current expenditure of the provincial government, including salaries, pension and other non-development expenditures, amounted to over Rs400 billion, leaving little fiscal space for development expenditure.

They said currently, the size of the provincial development programme hadn’t been decided as the finance and planning and development departments were arguing over its volume.

“The finance department wants smaller development programme, which the province’s financial resources allow. However, the P&D department is asking for a larger one,” said an official requesting anonymity.

He said currently, the finance department was pitching the size of the ADP’s provincial component to around Rs60 billion in line with the province’s current financial situation.

The official said the ADP’s district size was being projected at Rs30 billion and donor-funded portion at Rs60 billion with much of the latter likely to go for the ongoing Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit project.

He said though the finance department’s intention to prepare a realistic budget were very good, deductions for major projects was likely to curtail the provincial component of the development programme, the driver of province’s economic engine.

The official said of the around Rs60 billion development outlay, around Rs10 billion would be allocated for BRT construction.

He, however, said there was likelihood of the Rs60 billion outlay coming down to Rs45 billion keeping other major projects in view and if that happened.

The official also admitted lack of fiscal space for the government and said the finance department could do very little about it as there was little in the current expenditure to be curtailed.

A senior official at the finance department confirmed that the ADP volume had yet to be finalised.

He, however, said the finalisation of the ADP size was likely to happen within two days.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2018