The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf(PTI)-led government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday unveiled a budget of Rs 648 billion for Financial Year 2018-19, with surplus amount of Rs 30 billion and development outlay of Rs 180 billion.
The budget in a specially convened session of the provincial assembly was presented with Speaker Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani in the chair.
In his budget speech, Minister for Finance Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra said that since uplift of poor segment of the society was top priority of the government therefore the government has not revised the rate of any provincial tax. He said they are making concentrated efforts to strengthen taxation recovery system however they will not impose any new tax on people. He said the current revenue receipts are 7.5pc above Rs 603billion of the outgoing fiscal year.
The minister also announced increase of 10 percent ad-hoc relief in salaries and pensions in addition to 50 percent raise in house rent of the provincial government employees in budget 2018-19. Giving break-up of the provincial receipts, the province will obtain from the federal government included Rs 426billion from federal government which also included Rs 360bn under the federal taxes and Rs 233bn as royalty oil and gas.
Similarly, the province will obtain Rs 65bn as net hydel profit including Rs 38bn net profit arrears. Jhagra said that provincial own receipts has been pitched at Rs 23.82b from its taxes and Rs 17.439 billion from non-tax sector.
As many as Rs 71 billion have been pitched as foreign grant in 2018-19, showing 11pc increase over the outgoing year. The province will generate Rs 45bn showing seven percent increase from other receipts to be generated at the province level.
The province will receive Rs 360 billion from the federal divisible pool in addition to Rs 4.33bn as one percent of the divisible pool for war on terror.
The province will get Rs 25 billion on account of arrears in net-profit hydel power arrears. However, over Rs 39 billion had been estimated as outstanding amount under the head of net-profit hydel power.
The budget also envisages hefty funds for major schemes such the BRT project and Sehat Insaf programme besides other sectors. The budget proposed Rs 79.55 billion for the provincial development projects while Rs 29.34 billion had been put aside for development schemes financed by the district annual development programme.
Likewise, he said we are eliminating Thana culture and introducing budget at police station level for improving capacity building of the KP police. "We are this year Rs 2bn on efforts measured being taken under the 100-day agenda under which various projects would be approved," he said. The minister announced 90pc of the development budget for the ongoing development projects and 10pc for new schemes.
Finance Minister Salim Taimour Jhagra told the House that during the previous government in KP, the province was provided Rs 23bn less than its projected share of Rs 326bn under the taxation head.
He said the federal government would have to give us our due share from the net hydel profit arrears. The previous CM KP, he said has uncapped the Rs 6bn net hydel profit and this year we will be getting Rs 29bn under the same head but we will also continue our struggle for getting Rs 36 billion net hydel profit arrears.
Jhagra said, "We are expecting Rs 100bn increase in our annual net hydel profit under the AGN Qazi Formula." The other sectors where the KP Government will strive hard included increasing its provincial receipts as the provincial receipts make only six percent of the total budget allocation whereas the revenue receipts of Punjab and Sindh Governments was 20pc of their total budget allocation.
"We need money to meet the growing pace of development in the province for which we have no other options except to enhance our own taxation resources," he maintained. Referring to ADP 2018-19, the minister said it comprises Rs 109bn generation from own resources of the province which included Rs 80bn would be spent on ADP schemes and Rs 29bn on the districts Governments schemes whereas the foreign aid components comprises Rs 71bn. The ADP comprises 1376 schemes including 1155 ongoing and 221 new schemes.
The Finance Minister KP said that Rs 618bn expenditure have been divided into current revenue expenditure and annual development programme as each carrying Rs 438bn and Rs 180bn respectively.
Referring to expenditure summary position in 2018-19, the minister said Rs 259bn have been allocated for general public service, Rs 59bn for public order and safety affairs, Rs 24.25bn for economic affairs, Rs 7.4bn for housing and community amenities, Rs 35bn health sector, Rs 1.41bn for recreation, culture and religion, Rs 33 billion for education and Rs 8bn for social protection. The KP Government, he said, allocated Rs 7.7bn for repayment of loans and Rs 210 million against loans in advances, adding the provincial ADP will get Rs 79.5bn and the districts ADP will receive Rs 29.34 billion.
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