AJK govt unveils Rs108.2 bn budget for next fiscal

MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government on Monday unveiled its budget for next fiscal year 2018-19 with a total outlay of Rs108.2 billion and a development expenditure of Rs25.2 billion and 10 percent increase in the salaries of government employees as per the announcement of federal government in its budget.

Finance Minister Dr Najeeb Naqi presented the budget in the AJK Legislative Assembly amid during an uproar by the opposition parties Muslim Conference, Pakistan People's Party and PTI against the government and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Dr Naqi told the House that Rs82.70 billion had been allocated for the current expenditures in the next fiscal year's budget while Rs25.5 billion had been estimated for annual development programme including a foreign component of Rs1.8 billion while a handsome amount of Rs49 billion had been allocated in the federal PSDP for AJK's development projects.

The finance minister said that Rs21,400 million were estimated as income from local resources, Rs1,100 were estimated from the federal government in the head of water use charges, Rs12,800 million were estimated as receipts from Kashmir Council of 80% share, Rs49,000 million were estimated to be received from federal government as share from federal taxes while the gap between income and expenditure will be bridged by the special grant of the federal government.

While highlighting the silent features of annual development program (ADP) of the the next fiscal year budget, Dr. Naqi said the priority had been given to road infrastructure and communication with a major allocation of Rs10.383 billion for many ongoing and new schemes which constitute 41% of the total ADP.

The minister said an amount of Rs1.9 billion had been allocated in the next fiscal year budget for power sector to provide 13,000 new electricity connections giving the electricity facility to remaining population in the territory.

He said another amount of Rs2.43 billion had been allocated for Power Development Organisation (PDO) for its ongoing power projects, Rs2.225 billion had been allocated for physical planning and housing, Rs2.5 billion had been allocated for local governments and rural development and Rs1.3 billion were allocation for community infrastructure development programmes in the rural areas.

The finance minister also presented revised budget for current fiscal year 2017/18 in the House which constitute a volume of Rs96.68 billion rupees including Rs73 billion for current expenditures and Rs23 billion for annual development programme.