QUETTA, June 22: The Balochistan government is putting a system in place to monitor the Gross Domestic Production (GDP) of the province and all other social and economic indicators for which it has established a Balochistan Development Forum (BDF).

The forum, Provincial Finance Minister Syed Ehsan Shah informed a post- budget briefing on Wednesday, would consult the development partners and other stakeholders to work out a programme.

It has been set up in the Provincial Planning and Development Department on advice of the donors -- the Asian Development Bank and others. The donors will play an active role in transforming the Balochistan economy.

Supported by Finance Secretary Mahfooz Ali Khan, the minister while responding to a question, disclosed that the provincial government was now seeking equity partnership in the projects being set up in Balochistan based on minerals and other sources.

“We have 25pc equity in the project,” he replied when asked about the benefits to be obtained from a foreign joint venture project for extraction and marketing of copper. “We will get a share in the company’s profit and also royalty under the agreement”.

Drawing a parallel of his province with that of Sindh and Punjab he said the revenue generation and employment opportunities in two neighbouring provinces was on rise because of the flow of private investment.

“We do not get private investment for a number of factors, which are communications, lack of good education and health facilities and law and order,” he explained.

Answering another query Ehsan Shah said that Balochistan wanted a share in the privatisation proceeds and had made a petition for it.

Asked about the mounting debt burden, amounting Rs52bn that includes Rs16.5bn overdraft with the State Bank of Pakistan, the minister said that the government was in consultation with Islamabad to work out a strategy for debt repayment as well as maintaining the development tempo.

“Our development outlay has gone up from Rs4bn a year to Rs9bn and Rs10bn,” he pointed out while trying to explain the rise in debt burden.

He said that the provincial government was retiring expensive loans from the foreign credit obtained on easy terms. “A system is also being worked out to repay the expensive federal loans”.

The federal government, he said, is not allowing the provinces to retire prematurely its loans because these were given from the National Saving Scheme funds then offering rates of 12 and 14pc to the clients. These loans were therefore offered to the provinces at 17 and 18pc.

As for a consensus award of the National Finance Commission is concerned Syed Ehsan Shah said that it was for the provinces to do so and federal government was in no way responsible. The interim award can be replaced with a consensus award if all the four provinces decide to do so.

A document distributed in the press conference put the size of 2006-07 budget at Rs48.27bn. Total receipts of Balochistan have been put at Rs36.29bn, which after adjusting negative Rs2.74bn will amount to Rs33.54bn. The current expenditure has been shown at Rs37.45bn and development outlay is Rs10.82bn.

As for the overall deficit of Rs10.96bn Ehsan Shah said that it would be met by curtailing current revenue expenditure, seeking grants from federal government and generating local resources.

The finance secretary announced a number of measures which were being planned to mop up additional resources without adding tax burden on the people. “For example real estate property worth billions of rupee has changed hands in Gwadar on which no tax was recovered,” he said and pointed out that the government would ask all those in property transaction to register their deal and put some stamps.

“Property surveys are being carried out in small towns of the province to ascertain rental value so that tax can be recovered”. He said that the provincial government was beginning the printing of stamp papers and other security stationery.