PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Minister for Finance Taimur Saleem Jhagra on Saturday said that despite the difficult economic situation in wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the provincial government presented a balanced and tax-free budget for the next fiscal year 2020-21.
Addressing a post-budget press conference along with Adviser to Chief Minister on Information Ajmal Khan Wazir at the provincial secretariat’s cabinet room, he said that KP did not receive its pending dues from the Centre on the head of net hydel profit (NHP) from February 2020 till date, because of which the province was facing serious economic woes and constraints.
Due to shortcomings in tax collections by the federal government, the minister said that Rs150billion in the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award had been deducted from KP’s share in the outgoing financial year 2019-20.
Furthermore, he informed that they were also facing a shortfall of Rs160 billion in provincial revenue receipt due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The minister said that a record allocation of Rs148 billion had been made for the health sector. He added that a huge chunk of Rs207 billion had been allocated for the education sector to improve the socio-economic conditions of masses.
Despite depressing economic conditions, he added that a sum of Rs317.8 billion had been allocated for development portfolio which was more than Sindh province. He further said the provincial budget is focused on reviving the economy crippled by the Covid-19 pandemic and protecting investment in service deliveries, particularly the health sector.
The Minister said that a hefty sum of Rs24 billion had been allocated for the establishment of an anti-coronavirus Emergency Relief Fund, meant to protect people from the viral infection. He said that the tax rate had not been revised. He expressed hope that the tax collection target of Rs49 billion would be achieved in the upcoming fiscal year.
Jhagra said that the provincial government’s stand on net hydel profit issue was very clear as many countries were giving a share in the revenue obtained from such resources to respective provinces.
The minister said that the provincial government has prioritised uplift of merged tribal districts with special focus on education, health and infrastructure development projects to bring them at par with developed areas of Pakistan.
Wazir said that Bacha Khan International Airport has been opened for international flights as per the decision of the federal government where all necessary arrangements were made, including the deployment of doctors, paramedics besides installation of scanners to facilitate passengers in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. He said that coronavirus cases were increasing and urged people to follow the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to contain the viral infection.
Speaking to Pakistan Today, Jamaat-e-Islami KP chief Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan said that the provincial government’s budget is based on “unrealistic figures” because it has no actual source of revenue collection and planning behind it.
The senator said that the KP government has just set aside Rs1 billion for universities in a budget of Rs923 billion.
“Universities are already suffering from severe deficits and are facing a financial crisis and crises have been exacerbated due to coronavirus. In such a situation, ignoring universities in the budget is against higher education,” he said.
He criticised the provincial government for failing to secure the constitutional and financial rights of the people of the province from the federal government.
Senator Khan said that last year the Centre released Rs14 billion from net hydel profit, and this year, a target of Rs58 billion has been set but the province did not explain how they would secure it from the Centre.
He said that besides net hydel profit, KP’s share in the NFC has already been cut by more than Rs150 billion.
The senator said that the budget did not specify where the money for Annual Development Programme (ADP) of more than Rs317 billion and the loans of Rs86 billion would come from.
