Salaries, pensions raised by 10 percent

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has announced 10 percent increase in the salaries and pension of the government employees after merger of 2010 adhoc relief. Provincial Finance Minister Muzafar Said advocate presented the fifth budget of PTI led coalition government in the KP assembly Saturday afternoon with Speaker Asad Qaiser in the Chair. A special meeting of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cabinet with Chief Minister Pervez Khatak in chair here on Wednesday approved budget proposals for year 2017-18.
The KP government also announced 10 percent increase in salary and pension of the government employees after merger of the 2010 adhoc relief.
The minimum wages have been enhanced from Rs 14000 to Rs 15000. The rise in salaries and pension would burden the provincial kitty with Rs 16.50 billion. A sum of Rs 208billion has been earmarked for Annual Development Programme (ADP) for financial year 2017-18, showing an increase of 29 per cent as compared to outgoing fiscal period. According to budget document, a total outlay of ADP has been estimated Rs 208billion including 82 billion foreign Aid with focus on the ongoing development projects. A huge chunk of budgetary allocation has been earmarked for current projects in the budget.
The Annual Development Programme is comprised on total 1632 developmental schemes including 1182 ongoing and 450 new, which would be completed in next financial year.
The province is expected to receive Rs 247.876b from the Federal Divisible Pool 2017-18, Rs 107 million as one percent share of the province in war against terror from the federal divisible pool and Rs 49.806 billion as straight transfers from the federation. The province will get Rs 21.774b under head of net hydel profit and its arrears from the federal government and Rs 114.535 million as arrears of the net hydel profits.
The provincial own receipts have been pitched at Rs 68.31 billion for 2017-18. The current expenditure has been pitched at Rs 388billion to meet the provincial expenditure to be incurred next year, he said. The Finance Minister informed the House that the provincial government will generate Rs 126 billion from its own sources for the development programme whereas Rs 82 billion would be met through foreign donor agencies for feeding the development programmes.