Islamabad:
The government spent 905 billion rupees on development plans in the last financial year, which was lower than the allowance and can now require a reduction in the economic growth rate of 2.7% which had been developed on the basis of RS1.1 Billion of expenses.
On the RS905 billion, a little more than half – or 456 billion rupees – have been spent in the past two months (May -June), also stressing the need to review the current budget strategy which artificially eliminates expenses.
According to provisional figures, the federal government spent 905 billion rupees as part of the public sector development program (PSDP) during the year 2024-25, which ended on Monday.
Expenses of 905 billion rupees were lower than the original budget of 1.4 Billion of rupes approved by the National Assembly for the financial year 2024-25. However, the government subsequently reduced the PSDP to RS1.1 Billions, but actual expenses remained below the revised budget.
For the last financial year, the government had announced an economic growth rate of 2.7%, which was based on the hypothesis that the PSDP at 1.1 Billion from RS decreased would be fully spent.
In a press briefing last month, the chief statistician of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), Dr. Naeemuz Zafar, confirmed that the GDP figure assumed that the RS1,1 Billion would be spent.
An PBS official said on Wednesday that after real expenses of 905 billion rupees, there will be a certain impact on economic growth calculations. He said the exact impact could not be immediately determined.
Addressing the Express PK Press Club, federal Minister of Planning and Development, Ahsan Iqbal said: “We had almost affected the RS1 billion spending mark, but due to the slow revenue approvals for general Pakistan (AGPR), expenses remained at 905 billion rupees.”
Sources have indicated that the Ministry of Finance had asked the Ministry of the AGPR to slow down versions in the last days of June to achieve the budgetary objectives linked to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
According to the current budget release strategy, around 40% of the total budget was sanctioned in the last quarter, which often leads to lower expenses and can also cause leaks.
A member of the Senate, which is also in the construction sector, told the Express PK Press Club subject to anonymity that the AGPR had not erased the vouchers of entrepreneurs due to constraints related to the budget.
During the July-April period for the last financial year, the government had spent 449 billion rupees. But in the past two months, another RS456 billion has been reserved under development spending. In June alone, 308 billion of development expenditure was presented.
However, the Minister of Planning said that development work did not stop in the third quarter of the last financial year and that it was only the money that was published and reserved in May-June.
For the good of the IMF program, the Ministry of Finance tightened the PSDP to achieve quarterly and annual primary objectives.
A report from the recently published Ministry of Planning said that spending lower than planning had an impact on projects in various sectors. Despite thin budgetary spaces, the government always added new projects or revising up the cost of the regimes already approved.
Major spending heads
According to provisional figures, the government spent 60.5 billion rupees over parliamentarians’ diets during the last financial year. Expenditure was more than the budget revised downwards.
But Iqbal said that after having initially decided to revise the budget downwards, the government has decided to keep the original allocation program for sustainable development objectives (SDG).
Parliamentarians’ regimes are marked as ODD initiatives.
Another RS 69.5 billion was spent on provincial projects, which are funded by the federal government. The financing of provincial regimes is contrary to commitments given to the IMF and the national tax pact.
About 64 billion rupees have been spent on diets executed in tribal areas administered by the federal government, now merged with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Against a drop -down allowance of 61 billion rupees, higher education expenses remained at 58.8 billion rupees. Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission has obtained its full budget of 25 billion rupees, but for this exercise, the government has considerably reduced its allowance.
The development of the development of the Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) remained at 30.4 billion rupees compared to the allowance of 41 billion rupees.
The government spent 154 billion rupees in projects from the Ministry of Water Resources, which also include spending on two major dams. The allowance was RS195 billion. For this exercise, the government has reduced the 28%water sector allowance.
Expenses on highways and highways under the National Highway Authority amounted to RS144 billion, against the allocation of RS161 billion.
Development spending on energy sector projects have been 88 billion rupees against the allocation of 98 billion rupees.
