QUETTA: Provincial Minister Asim Kurd Galloo announced an all time high tax free Balochistan budget 2011-12 at the provincial assembly here Tuesday afternoon. Announcing the budget the Finance Minister said that total size of the budget is Rupees 164.447 billion including Rupees 31.241 billion development budget.

Total estimates during the new financial year have been estimated at Rupees 157.843 billion. Thus there would be deficit of Rupees 6.731 billion for the year 2011-12. Galloo said that the present coalition government has increased expenditures for peoples welfare and infact had broken all previous records under development head. “Today we are in a position to present Rupees 164.447 billion budget in which volume of development expenditures is to the tune of Rupees 31.241.”

Another big challenge Balochistan faces is the poverty situation. The Finance Minister said that the Balochistan government is not only fully aware of these challenges but is making a policy and planning to meet them. He claimed that the government has been successful to a great extent to improve the law and order situation generally with the result international and local investment seemed to be increasing in Balochistan, particularly in Quetta.

He said that unemployment is a social curse and it gave birth to multidimensional problems. “Our government has waged jihad against this curse and decided to provide the best opportunity for employment. We have created 6270 new vacancies during the coming financial year.”

He said that the provincial government was also increasing salaries and pension of its employees following the federal government’s announcement during the year 2011-12. He said all adhoc relief allowances would be merged into basic salary of 2008 and new pay scales would be introduced. Salaries of all government employees would be increased by 15 per cent. All pensioners retired on July 2002 or afterwards would get 15 per cent increase in their pension while pension of those retired on June 30 2002 or earlier was being increased by 20 per cent. Conveyance of provincial employees from Grade 1 to Grade 15 would be increased by 25 per cent.

The Finance Minister also said that Rupees 500 million had been set aside during the year 2011-12 for non development expenditures.