Rs 59.696 billion budget for Balochistan unveiled: deficit estimated at Rs 12.115 billion

Balochistan minister for finance Syed Ehsan Shah presented the annual budget for the year 2006-07 here on Tuesday envisaging a total outlay of Rs 59.696 billion with Rs 37.453 billion as current expenditure, Rs 7 billion as provincial public sector development programme and capital expenditure of Rs 15.184 billion.
The total revenue receipts are estimated at Rs 35.144 billion and capital receipt at Rs 12.437 billion. Thus, there is a deficit of Rs 2.309 billion in case of current expenditure and Rs 1.747 billion in case of capital expenditure.
Adding the PSDP of Rs 7.060 billion, the deficit would go up further. This deficit is to be met from other resources like unfunded receipts and loans from the federal government. After these expected receipts, the total budget deficit would be Rs 12.115 billion.
The finance minister, referring to resource constraints in his budget speech, maintained this factor would hamper the growth and development objectives.
"We cannot come out of our resource constraints unless the federal government comes up with substantial financial package. We alone cannot improve our financial health without assistance of the federal government."
He maintained the budget has been prepared with the goal to improve the financial health of the province.
He said the provincial government is actively involved in improving financial management, improving social service delivery, creating economic opportunities and enhancing financial resources.
Referring to socio-economic indicators of the province, the finance minister said literacy rate in the province is 34 percent. Monthly per capita income is the lowest of all the four provinces at Rs762. Unemployment rate is soaring high at 33.48 percent with just 8 percent of the total road network in the country amply explains reason of the province''s poor growth and under-utilisation of resources.
He announced to give ownership rights to kachhi abadies from the next fiscal year in line with the announcement made by President Pervez Musharraf during his recent visit to Gadani. Besides, the province also planned to revive the ship-breaking industries at Gadani.
The minister said desalination plants, one each at Gwadar and Gadani, are being installed with the assistance of the federal government to provide water to people.
As many as 1300 villages would be electrified. Kuwait Fund has been reactivated for village electrification under which Rs 1 billion would be spent on this programme.
The Balochistan government has included no new scheme except one related to poverty alleviation worth Rs 700 million in its public sector development programme (PSDP) for the fiscal year 2006-07.
Total amount that has been allocated under the PSDP in the budget is Rs 10,819 million including Rs 3,760 million as foreign assistance that will be spent on 1,071 ongoing development schemes in various sectors in the province.
According to details, Rs 262.104 million have been earmarked for 396 ongoing schemes in road, Rs 757.635 million for 143 schemes in education and Rs 253.356 million for 70 uplift schemes in health sector.
Besides, Rs 393.642 million have been allocated to complete 117 ongoing water supply schemes, Rs 127.323 million for 15 uplift schemes in agriculture, Rs 29.710 million for 16 schemes in livestock sectors and Rs 740.104 million for 93 uplift schemes being launched under the Balochistan Development Authority.
Rs 3.500 million have been allocated for one scheme being implemented by Gwadar Development Authority in Gwadar district, Rs 136.B40 million for 16 schemes in power sector and Rs 157.370 million for 52 schemes of public health and engineering.
Rs 59 million have been allocated for 4 schemes in industrial and Rs 70 million for seven uplift schemes in mineral sectors.
The provincial government, despite its acute financial constraints, has also allocated Rs 11 million for two ongoing schemes for women development and Rs 29.200 million for 16 schemes in sports sector.Balochistan minister for finance Syed Ehsan Shah has said the provincial government has allocated a sum of Rs 641.2956 million for flour subsidy in the next fiscal year.
Presenting the provincial budget for the year 2006-07 here in the provincial assembly on Tuesday, he said earlier the government was provided subsidy on wheat, but this year they have decided to replace wheat with flour for subsidy to ensure benefit to ultimate consumers.
We need sufficient quantity of wheat to meet our requirements and for this purpose we have to import 300,000 tons of wheat from outside the province while 50,000 tons is procured within the province, he said.
The government supplies wheat to owners of flour mills at the rate of Rsll,130 per metric ton, he said, and added a subsidy of Rs1,900 per metric ton is given in this regard.
The government provides wheat subsidy to the tune of Rs 665 million annually for alleviation of financial miseries of the poor, he maintained. The finance minister said the government has also decided to keep up the subsidy of Rs 2 billion on tube-wells in the wake of adverse effects of drought.