QUETTA: Balochistan Finance Minister Mir Zahoor Ahmed Buledi has said that the next provincial budget will be people-friendly with focus on socio-economic development.

Speaking at a pre-budget press briefing here on Wednesday, he said tax reforms would be introduced in the budget for increasing income of the province.

The minister said mines and mineral, tourism, fisheries, agriculture, industry and such other sectors, which were ignored by the previous governments, would receive maximum budget allocations to generate more revenue.

He said the coalition government had decided to include projects in the next year’s development plan to give maximum benefit to the people.

He said steps would be taken to increase revenue for development and other expenditures.

Mr Buledi said the existing taxation system needed to be changed.

He said the government had planned to establish mineral parks in the province to attract investment in the mines and mineral sector.

The minister said Rs1.5 billion will be allocated for the universities to enhance quality of education in the province. This amount was just Rs500 million in the past.

“A finance committee will be set up for distribution of funds,” Mr Buledi said, adding that several measures had been suggested for increasing the literacy rate in the province.

He said special persons would get maximum facilities in the next budget. The government would bring reforms in the health sector, he added.

Mr Buledi said Balochistan had meager resources so the government would spend them very carefully.

He said the centre had included mega projects, including dams, highways, power supply and some other schemes, in the federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) on the request of the Balochistan government.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2019