Nawaz to approve Rs1,675 bn development outlay today

ISLAMABAD: For the first time in the country’s history, Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif will chair the NEC meeting on Monday (today) through a video link from London for approving the development outlay of Rs1,675 billion and macroeconomic targets for upcoming budget 2016-17.

All arrangements have been finalised to hold the NEC meeting through a video link in which the country’s development budget with federal PSDP of Rs800 billion and provincial development outlays of Rs875 billion will be approved.

The NEC will also approve macroeconomic targets including GDP growth rate at 5.7 percent, inflation 6 percent and current account deficit at $4.8 billion for upcoming budget 2016-17.

Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal told reporters on Sunday that the government held consultations with all provinces as well as with the AJK and GB for taking them on board related to development outlay of the next budget.He also said that the JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman had met him on inclusion of development projects announced by the PM during his visit to the DI Khan.

The PM, he said, had directed them to include all projects being announced by him in different parts so the Planning Commission had accommodated all such projects in the next PSDP.The government, he said, had to devise a strict scrutiny mechanism for inclusion of projects into the PSDP because the ministries/division demanded of Rs1,800 billion but the government provided only Rs655 billion for PSDP projects in the wake of scarcity of resources.

“We consulted all provinces and other stakeholders into confidence regarding scarcity of resources and undertaken important projects in the next financial year. “So we set priority to focus on ongoing projects and energy, CPEC projects, infrastructure and human resource development will be focused in the coming budget,” he added.