ISLAMABD: A discrepancy of 26 percent has been noted in Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) releases of Rs 644.7 billion by Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives for the FY 2019-20 and Rs 467.7 billion development spending released by Ministry of Finance in Consolidated Budgetary Operation.

On 3rd July, the PSDP released data uploaded by Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives noted Rs 644.7 billion (92 percent) spending by the federal government for development against the total budgeted allocation of Rs 701 billion during 2019-20. However, consolidated budgetary operation uploaded by the Ministry of Finance on August 12, showed that development spending by the federal government during the last fiscal year stood at Rs 467.7 billion, reflecting a discrepancy Rs 177 billion between the data of Planning and Finance Ministries. An official attributed the lower PSDP utilization during the last fiscal year as one of the factors limiting the fiscal deficit to 8.1 percent (3376 billion) during 2019-20 against the 9.1 percent noted in the budget documents.

Additionally, the official described the discrepancy between releases and utilization as a procedural gap and stated that relevant ministries and divisions / departments are authorized by the Ministry of Planning and Development to access PSDP releases as per laid down procedure but the actual utilization is reported when the amount is disbursed by Accountant General of Pakistan Revenue (AGPR).

According to Ministry of Planning, the total PSDP release up to June 31 was Rs 644.7 billion against budgeted allocation of Rs701 billion, (92 percent) including Rs17.6 billion foreign aid for development projects of various ministries, divisions and related departments out of Rs313.6 billion budgeted allocation.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020