GILGIT, July 8: Northern Areas Legislative Council (NALC) deputy chief executive Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan presented Rs4.025 billion budget including foreign aid component of Rs400 million for 2006-07 financial year.

Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas Major (retired) Tahir Iqbal, who is also the chief executive of the Northern Areas, attended the special budget session.

While presenting the budget, Mr Khan said that the amount would be spent on 854 development schemes including 600 ongoing projects.

He said water and power, communication, education, health, population welfare, planning and development and works would be given priority.

He said that for the ongoing projects of power generation Rs992.055 million had been earmarked. For communication, he said, Rs811.803 million, education Rs564.601 million, planning, development and works Rs775.384 million and for health Rs335.577 million had been allocated.

Addressing the budget session, Mr Iqbal said that President Gen Pervez Musharraf was taking keen interest in the socio-economic development of the Northern Areas and therefore the annual development budget has been increased from Rs400 million to over Rs4 billion.

He said if the development budget was judiciously utilized, the region could be brought at par with other parts of the country.

Mr Iqbal said that the development package announced by President Musharraf during his visit to Gilgit would bring progress and prosperity and the living condition of the common man would be improved.

The Northern Areas Legislative Council session would begin debate on the budget from Monday.