The government formally started the process of budget-making on Monday by seeking demands for allocation of budget, (recurrent and development) from ministries and divisions to finalise the outlay for 2012-13. Sources said the five-day priorities committees meetings began in Ministry of Finance and as many as 15 ministries and divisions submitted their demands for allocation of ceiling in the next fiscal year budget.
Earlier, Finance Division directed all the ministries and divisions, 64 total in number, to bring in one-page summary giving details about the services (output) that the Principal Accounting Officer (PAO) would deliver in the next three years, allocation of three years ceilings (recurrent and development) by services as well as the main challenge in utilisation of expenditure. Ministries and divisions have also been asked to provide a list of projects (ongoing and new approved, if any) along with total allocation, both local and foreign funding. The process of priorities committee meeting to finalise the budget for the next fiscal year would continue for five days.
An official said the Board of Investment (BOI) has requested a significant increase in their budget to enable them to increase the "House Allowance" of their employees. The contention of the high-ups of BOI was that the "House Allowance" of Prime Minister Secretariat/House employees was increased by 100 percent but it was not given to the employees of the BOI, which is also working under Prime Minister Secretariat. The BOI requested the Finance Ministry to provide Rs 73 million additional money in their next year''s budget, Rs 40 million for 100 percent increase in house allowance to their 300 employees, and Rs 33 million for others heads.
Sources said that the officials of the BOI argued before the priorities committee, presided over by the Special Secretary Finance Rana Asad Amin that the Prime Minister had agreed, in principle, for consideration to equate their house allowance to 100 percent from 2011-12 budget. An official of the BOI said that a decision on their demand is yet to be taken. The officials of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Housing & Works, Defence, Atomic Energy Commission, PM Inspection Commission, Military Secretary to the President (President Secretariat), Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority, President''s Secretariat Public, Interior Division, Board of Investment, Establishment Division, Auditor General of Pakistan, Controller General of Accounts, Military Secretary to the PM (PM''s Secretariat Internal) and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) have submitted their demands for allocation of budget ceiling for next three years under medium term budgetary framework.