LAHORE, June 13: The Punjab government will lay before the provincial assembly its revenue budget of Rs274 billion — indicating a current expenditure of Rs191 billion and carrying a surplus of Rs83 billion — for the fiscal year 2006-07 on Wednesday.
The budget for the next fiscal also proposes a record development programme to the tune of Rs100 billion - including Rs88 billion provincial annual development programme (ADP) and Rs12 billion district development programme - up by a whopping Rs38 billion or 61 per cent from the outgoing fiscal year’s budgetary estimate of Rs62 billion for development - including Rs53 billion set aside for the provincial programme and Rs9 billion for the district programme.
It is for the first time that the provincial government proposes to jack up the share of the district development programme by 30 per cent or Rs3 billion to Rs12 billion from the current year’s Rs10 billion, which the districts receive for their development under the provincial finance commission (PFC).
The proposed development budget will mainly be financed from the revenue surplus of Rs83 billion and foreign assistance of Rs8-9 billion. “The shortfall or deficit will be funded through surplus in the province’s capital account,” senior finance department officials told Dawn on Tuesday. The province’s allocation for the next year for development is almost five times greater than its development outlay of Rs21.725 billion for the financial year 2000-01.
The proposed revenue budget for the financial year 2006-07 is 22.32 per cent heftier than the outgoing fiscal year’s revenue budget of Rs224.408 billion. The revenue expenditure is proposed to increase by Rs33.5 billion or 21 per cent to Rs191 billion during 2006-07 from the budgetary estimates of Rs157.53 billion for the outgoing year.
Punjab will receive over Rs189 billion, up by about Rs24 billion from Rs165.513 billion estimated for the outgoing year, from the central government in the form of federal transfers under the interim National Finance Commission (NFC) Award arrangement.
No new tax is proposed to be levied in the next year’s budget, though the provincial government intends to enhance its tax revenue to Rs29-30 billion from the current year’s target of Rs25.771 billion through better, improved collection. In all, provincial officials said, the province’s own tax and non-tax revenue receipts are expected to be around Rs53 billion, down from the current year’s target of Rs58.895 billion.
Speaking at a pre-budget press conference, provincial chief minister Pervaiz Elahi claimed that his government would spend “more than Rs124 billion from the development and current budget on the social sector - education, health, water and sanitation, etc., in the next financial year, up by Rs18 billion from the current year’s expenditure of Rs107 billion”. He also spoke at length on what he described as positive impact of increased expenditure on social sector, especially education and health, in the province. Speaking about utilisation of development funds, he said the province had already utilised 97 per cent funds.
He said per capita development expenditure in Punjab would rise to Rs1,152 in 2006-07 from Rs582 in 1999-00, when the revenue budget size was estimated at Rs93 billion. He claimed that the provincial GDP had grown by 9.2 per cent last year, and was likely to expand by 7.2 per cent this year. He said the per capita income (on the basis of cost factor 1999) had gone up to Rs32,800 per annum from Rs25,664 per annum in 1999. On the basis of current cost fact, he said, the per capita income has risen to Rs52,000 per annum.
He said the province had been making progress in line with the targets set in the Vision 2020, which envisages the GDP to grow at 7-8 per cent per year so that one million new jobs are created and poverty alleviated. He contended that “poverty in the province had reduced by 11 per cent, which means that seven million more people are now above the poverty line”.
According to the federal bureau of statistics (FBS), he said, as many as 3.5 million jobs were created in Punjab during the last three years. Some 60 per cent of these new jobs, he said, were created in agriculture, 20 per cent in services, 14 per cent in industry and six per cent in construction. He said his government was taking measures to help poor and vulnerable segments of society in the province. In this connection, the government would provide a targeted subsidy of Rs750 million to the poor and needy during the next fiscal year. The chief minister said the provincial government would also raise the allowances and pensions of the provincial employees in line with the federal government’s decision to allow 15 per cent dearness allowance to federal employees.
He aid his vision-2020 aimed at the development of Punjab was the first policy document prepared by any provincial government, which conceived an economic development programme for the province. He said the development strategy of the present government was not limited to the provision of resources but it also aimed at achieving concrete results through utilisation of funds. Referring to the measures taken in the education sector, he said 1.8 million more students had been enrolled in the public sector schools up to class X, which was 20.1 per cent more than the enrolment figures for 2003.
He said the enrolment rate of girl students during this period had increased by 44 per cent. He said that five new universities were being set up in Punjab with the cooperation of Higher Education Commission in the coming five years. Of them two universities with focus on science and technology would be set up on the proposed Sialkot-Lahore motorway.
He said that an industrial estate would also be set up near these universities over an area of 35 acres of land. He said the present government had set up a target of 100 per cent literacy rate by year 2020, which would be achieved even before 2015. He said that the government would spend an amount of Rs600 million on special education during the next fiscal.
He said that due to the measures taken by the government for the promotion of special education, the number of students in these institutions had risen by 160 per cent.
The chief minister said that there had been a record increase in expenditure in the health sector during his government. He said that an amount of Rs10 billion was utilized on health and population welfare sector during 2002-03 whereas it had been increased to Rs24 billion for the fiscal year 2005-06. He said that free medicines worth Rs39.1 million had been provided to 3.5 million patients in the emergency wards of major hospitals of the province.
He said that all rural heath centers and basic health units would be made fully functional by 2007. He said that due to attractive incentives, 95 per cent vacancies of doctors/lady doctors had been filled in the rural areas.
Speaking about the measures taken for the supply of potable water and sewerage system, the government would succeed in the supply of pure drinking water to every citizen in the rural and urban areas within next three years. He said that a sum of Rs45 billion would be spent on water supply and sanitation projects during next three years.
He said that a mass transit system was being launched in Lahore for which a survey had already been completed and first underground railway station would be built at the Minar-i-Pakistan during 2007. He said that 60,000 people would avail this facility per hour and 1.4 million per day.
Commenting on increase in prices, he said like the federal government, Punjab was also taking measures to check the upward trend of prices. He said that municipal magistrates were being appointed for checking prices of daily-use items who would award punishment to profiteers after summary trial. He said that the government would provide a subsidy of Rs950 million for the provision of cheap flour and sugar to low income people. He also announced a project under the name of Sasta Stores to provide 10 items of daily use to the citizens at their cost of production.
He said that the government would provide all facilities and allowances to the Punjab government employees as had been announced for government servants in the federal budget. He also announced an increase of Rs3.5 billion in the SME loans and said that these loans would be provided to small investors at the markup rate of only seven per cent.
In reply to a question, the chief minister said that the present government had provided record funds for the development of southern Punjab and 11 per cent more development funds were being allocated for these areas than their share of population during the last three years. He said that this process would also continue in future. He said that a sum of Rs7.5 billion had been allocated for water and sanitation programme in 21 tehsils of southern Punjab. He said that a safari park of international standards was being set up in Lal Sohanra over an area of 100,000 acres, which would also have a hotel with the latest facilities.
Elaborating the measures taken for the improvement of law and order and police reforms, he said that the setting up of patrolling posts force had resulted in the reduction of highway crime. He said that all requirements of police department had been fulfilled and now it must show the required standards of efficiency. He warned that there was no room for inefficient officers and officials in the police department.