NWFP budget

Siraj-ul-Haq, NWFP Senior Minister, who also holds the portfolio of Finance and Planning and Development, presented the Rs 86.507 billion NWFP budget, with a deficit of Rs 2.308 billion, for financial year 2005-06, in a especially convened session of the Provincial Assembly amid protests from the opposition on Sunday. The Annual Development Programme has been allocated Rs 20.98 billion.
In his budget speech, which was punctuated by a regrets over the inability of the federal government to announce the National Finance Commission Award, before the budget, the minister pointed out that the total receipts were estimated at Rs 84.199 billion (depicting an increase of Rs 5.9 billion over the current financial year) towards which the federal government would pay Rs 34.98 billion from the federal divisible pool, thereby showing an increase of 17 percent over the revised estimates of the outgoing year.
Moreover, the estimated receipts under subvention from the federal government for the next financial year have been placed at Rs 5 billion, compared to Rs 4.5 billion in the current financial year. NWFP would also receive Rs 979.497 million as straight transfers, by way of royalty on natural gas, crude oil, gas development surcharge, excise duty on natural gas, etc.
Under this head, the amount shown is 9 percent higher than the revised receipts of the current year. As for the provincial government's share in the net profit on hydel generation, the budget has shown an amount of Rs 8 billion, which exceeds the revised estimate of the current year by Rs 2 billion.
It will also be noted that while announcing the salient features of the budget, Siraj said that the province would generate 8 percent of total receipts from own resources, as against a 20.39 percent increase in federal share as compared to the current financial year.
Out of total expenditures of Rs 86.507 billion, current expenditures has been placed at Rs 51 billion, while capital expenditure has been estimated at Rs 14.5 billion and developmental programme at Rs 21.9 billion.
The budget has been divided into welfare, administrative and developmental sectors. Of these, welfare budget totals Rs 36.2 billion, administrative budget Rs 9.8 billion and developmental budget Rs 20.9 billion. It will also be noted that, as Siraj pointed out, with increase in the salaries of government employees, the size of the welfare budget has further increased.
As for the provincial government's priorities, these include education, health, and administration.
For education, an amount of Rs 14.4 billion has been allocated, against Rs 13 billion in the current financial year. Of this, Rs 6.9 billion (47.8 percent) would be spent on primary education, Rs 1.9 billion on middle level, Rs 4.5 billion on secondary level, while allocation for colleges totals Rs 1.6 billion. Again, Rs 117 million has been earmarked for training, research and libraries. At the same time Rs 10 million would be spent on schools where furniture has not been provided for.
This will be besides Rs 110 million to be spent on repairs and other basic requirements of schools, while Rs 220 million would be spent through parents and teachers associations.
As for the health sector, it has been allocated Rs 3.6 billion, which comes to 10 percent of total budget, showing an increase of 10 percent over current financial year's allocations of Rs 3.3 billion. Major projects in this sector include installation of MRI and CT Scan machines through an endowment fund of Rs 100 million in Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH).
The revenue generated from these, through public-private partnership, would be spent on treatment of low-income and poor patients. Also included, in this expenditure, is setting up of an additional gynae ward in KTH. Mention may also be made of provision for a drug and diagnostic centre at an estimated cost of Rs 200 million in Peshawar.
The administrative budget carries an allocation Rs 9.8 billion, which is 14.7 percent of total provincial budget, and 8 percent higher compared to the current financial year. The government has also sanctioned Rs 3.74 billion for police and recruitment to 2500 vacancies. More to this, Rs 252 million have been sanctioned for prisons, while recruitment of 100 wardens in different prisons of the province is stated to be under consideration.
Reference may also be made to Rs 90 million allocation for excise and taxation department, and Rs 393 million for revenue and estate department, Rs 524 million for law and justice and Rs 3.74 billion for pensions.
In so far as the Rs 21 billion annual development programme is, concerned, it reveals an increase of 29 percent over current financial year. The province's share in it at Rs 11.2 billion is 32 percent more than current financial year. The programme includes foreign assistance of Rs 6.46 billion, which is inclusive of Rs 856 million foreign grants.
The development programme, encompassing 985 projects, includes 788 ongoing and 197 new schemes, thereby depicting an urge for completion of projects in hand. Rs 1.5 billion have been sanctioned for launching of special programmes, while Rs 479 million have been earmarked for population welfare programme of federal government and Rs 963 million for district development programmes. The social sector, which enjoys top priority in ADP for which 46 percent funds have been sanctioned, includes 11 percent for health, 27.3 percent for education and 2 percent for Tameer-e-Sarhad Programme, water supply and sanitation.