ISLAMABAD: Provincial development spending has increased to Rs245.5 billion during the first quarter (July-September) 2023, ie, up 38 percent over Rs152 billion for the same period a year before, with Punjab recording the highest spending of Rs112 billion.
Surprisingly, the development expenditure of Punjab, Sindh, and Baluchistan has been increased during the first quarter of the current fiscal year over the same period of the last fiscal year, whereas, a decrease in development expenditure of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa was noted.
Official data of fiscal operation of the first quarter when compared to the same period of a year before reveals that total development expenditure under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) is Rs245.5 billion in the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2023, as opposed to Rs152.233 billion during July-September 2022.
The development spending of Punjab province was increased to Rs112 billion during (July-September) 2023 from Rs72.298 billion for the same period a year ago.
The development spending by the Sindh province has increased to Rs84.5 billion during the first quarter of the current fiscal year from Rs28.27 billion for the same period a year before.
The development spending of Balochistan was Rs7.738 billion in the first quarter of the last fiscal year July-September 2022 and it increased to Rs19.6 billion during the current fiscal year for the same period.
Surprisingly, the development spending of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province decreased to Rs29.7 billion during the first quarter (July-September 2023) from Rs43.9 billion for the same period a year before.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023