All development projects with less than 80 percent work completed are expected to be reviewed by a committee, which will decide whether the projects should be continued or scrapped, reliable sources in the Planning Commission told Business Recorder here on Tuesday.
A committee will be established comprising high level officials of Finance Division, Planning Commission and the concerned ministries, to decide the fate of the projects. The modus operandi for curtailing the PSDP is currently under discussion between the concerned ministries but it has been agreed that there would be no cut in funds for projects where 80 percent work has been completed, sources stated.
Pakistan is facing a severe financial crunch with a burgeoning budget deficit. It is now a foregone conclusion that Pakistan will for the International Monetary Fund Programme, which has stipulated that the budget deficit must be brought down to 4.4 percent.
This requires a massive cut in expenditure and the government has opted for (i) curtailing PSDP for all projects that are less than 80 percent complete, (ii) re-evaluate all other projects to assess which would be deferred till finances improve and (iii) co-ordinate will all ministries in an attempt to slash their unnecessary expenditure.
The government will not change the outlay for social sectors, particularly health and education including Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), while downsizing the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2008-09. However, the budgetary allocation for health and education is extremely low and considered inadequate to meet the needs of the country or at par with the outlay by other countries in the region.