ISLAMABAD: While directing all ministries to surrender unutilised funds immediately, the Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government has decided to continue the controversial Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) programme through parliamentarians in the coming budget with a proposed allocation of Rs40 billion.
The funding for the SDGs achievement programme stood at Rs70 billion under the PTI-led government despite the fact that former PM Imran Khan had always opposed the programme when he was on the opposition benches. However, he preferred to keep the programme intact, but now the PDM coalition has also decided to make an allocation of Rs40 billion to the program which will be executed in constituencies of parliamentarians through respective deputy commissioners.
Top official sources confirmed to The News on Friday that the government had slashed the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) from Rs900 billion to Rs500 billion for the outgoing fiscal year 2021-22 ending on June 30, 2022. In Friday’s meeting, different ministries have been directed to surrender unutilized funds. Different ministries including Ministry of Railway, Information Technology and Ministry of Agriculture performance were criticized by the top officials of the ministries of planning and finance high-up, sources said.
The government has decided to hold the Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APCC) on June 4, 2022, for recommending a Rs700 billion PSDP for the next budget and macroeconomic framework. So far, the Ministry of Planning proposed real GDP growth in the range of 4.5 to 5 per cent while CPI-based inflation is projected hovering around 11 percent for the next fiscal year. The National Economic Council (NEC) is scheduled to meet on June 7, 2022, tentatively under the chairmanship of PM Shehbaz Sharif for approving the national development outlay and macroeconomic framework for the next budget 2022-23. The next budget will be presented before the parliament on June 10, 2022. The incumbent regime has been facing difficulties for incorporating different unapproved projects into the list of the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) so it decided to convene a meeting of CDWP on June 1, for granting approval to concept papers for several upcoming initiatives of the government in order to avoid violation of the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act. Under the PFM act, the government cannot include any unapproved project into the PSDP list. In order to find out a way in the presence of the PFM Act, the government is left with no other option but to grant approval for special initiatives with the clearance of concept papers for paving the way for making it a part of the PSDP for the next fiscal year.
The cost of throw forward for the completion of over 1168 development projects into the PSDP have gone up to Rs8 trillion and an insufficient allocation of funds was resulting into the cost and time overrun in most of projects completion. Instead of completing the ongoing projects, every government wants to incorporate its choice projects into the PSDP list and the enactment of the PFM Act will definitely be a stumbling block in the way of incorporating politically-motivated projects as a part of development plans. Meanwhile, at an official meeting, Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal made it clear that the allocation of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) would not be slashed in the coming budget despite facing severe financial constraints.