KARACHI, June 15: Provincial Senior Minister Syed Sardar Ahmad presented in the Sindh Assembly on Thursday Rs193.1 billion budget for the year 2006-07 that shows a small surplus of Rs302.24 million.

The minister announced 15 per cent dearness allowance for about 450,000 government employees and 15 per cent raise in the pensions of employees who retired after 1977. A sum of Rs500 million has been allocated to bring salaries of the Sindh Police at par with that of Punjab.

Under the dictates of the World Bank and other donors, the budget accounting system this year is a departure from the old established practices when the annual development programme was shown as unfunded and its implementation was subject to availability of funds. “Now all the budget entries, both receipts and expenditure, are well identified and the document is transparent,” a senior official explained later.

For a change, the assembly session began on time at about 3.00pm and as usual, the budget speech was interrupted by the opposition members’ shouts, slogans and desk thumping.

A record Rs50bn investment for development activities is being proposed for next fiscal year by various agencies. This includes an all funded Rs32 billion annual development programme, Rs5.3 billion foreign-assisted programme, Rs10.5 billion federal government-funded programmes, Rs250 million DERA funds and Rs1.95 billion available for development from foreign loan.

On the current revenue side, the senior minister, who also holds the charge of excise and taxation, indicated resource availability of Rs147.61bn thanks to an improvement in recovery of taxes. The current expenditure budget has been put at Rs139.22 billion showing a surplus of Rs6.39 billion.

The capital receipts indicate a hefty inflow of Rs9.24 billion. These are the expected recoveries from organisations and institutions. Also included in this head are the funds amounting to Rs7.34bn being received under the World Bank and Asian Development Bank for devolution process and social sectors.

“The provincial component of the ADP will be entirely funded by the provincial government whereas the district governments will fund their components from the single line transfer from July onward,” the minister announced while pointing out that the district component of the ADP was Rs8 billion and Rs24 billion was provincial component.

General administration claims the biggest share of Rs21.12 billion out of Rs139 billion revenue budget followed by Rs19 billion for social services, Rs17.76 billion for community services, Rs10.32 billion for debt servicing and about Rs57 billion for local governments.

The minister did speak on health and education but this part of his speech was sketchy and he did not give the picture in terms of enrolment in educational institutions, literacy, girls’ education and availability of health facilities.

Abolition of stamp duties on allotment order or transfer of allotment order issued by developer, builder, cooperative societies, is a big fiscal measure announced by the minister echoing the Punjab finance minister’s similar announcement on Wednesday.

Stamp duty on mortgage deed has been reduced from five to three per cent and from 4.2 per cent to two per cent.

Stamp duty on power of attorney has been reduced from five to three per cent.

The minister also announced abolition of stamp duty on registration of articles of association and memorandum of association of new companies.

Another feature of the minister’s budget speech was to mention Sindh’s GDP around $28 billion. While pointing out that Sindh faced numerous big challenges, the minister took credit of retiring Rs13.7 billion federal and State Bank loans over the past few years.

He announced the setting up of the Small Dams Corporation as a part of water management plan, approval of a few desalination plants and an Agro Export Zone in Karachi and its seven satellite stations in other cities to improve production of fruits and vegetables, setting up of cattle colonies in Mithi, Thatta, Tando Allahyar, Shahdadkot and a state-of-the-art Dairy Village and Export Processing Zone near Ghaggar Phatak.