Rs160bn proposed for 1,168 uplift schemes in Sindh budget

A meeting chaired by Sindh Planning & Development (P&D) and Energy Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah on Wednesday reviewed the development budget proposals for the financial year 2025-26, with a proposed allocation of Rs160 billion for 1,168 development schemes across 10 provincial departments.

The works & services (including prisons); agriculture, supply & prices; livestock & fisheries; culture, tourism, antiquities & archives; sports & youth affairs; services, general administration & coordination (SGA&C); industries & commerce; investment; energy and P&D departments are included in the proposals.

The meeting, which was attended by ministers, departmental secretaries, senior officials and P&D Board Chairman Najam Ahmed Shah, recommended prioritising ongoing schemes over new ones.

The P&D minister emphasised that all schemes must align with the guidelines of Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and the provincial chief minister, highlighting the chairman’s directive to ensure inclusive development, without discrimination against any community or region.

For the works & services (including prisons) department, Rs80 billion has been proposed for 675 schemes; for the agriculture, supply & prices department, Rs9.7 billion has been proposed for 60 schemes; and for the livestock & fisheries department, Rs4.9 billion has been proposed for 38 schemes.

For the culture, tourism, antiquities & archives department, Rs2.8 billion has been proposed for 44 schemes; for the sports & youth affairs department, Rs6.5 billion has been proposed for 210 schemes; and for the SGA&C department, Rs39 billion has been proposed for 77 schemes.

For the industries & commerce department, Rs1.8 billion has been proposed; for the investment department, Rs0.4 billion has been proposed for two schemes; for the energy department, Rs12.8 billion has been proposed for 16 schemes; and for the P&D department, Rs12.7 billion has been proposed for 28 schemes.