No government department at Punjab has achieved its development objectives for the current financial year, according to the third quarter financial report presented to the Provincial Assembly for Post-Budget Debate.
The report exposes a significant difference between budgetary allowances and actual expenses in all departments, highlighting the ineffectiveness of the use of funds during the third quarter of the fiscal 2024-25.
According to the report, the Punjab government allocated a total of RS488,43b for development in the third quarter, but only RS355,43b were spent.
Department expenses
Several departments in Punjab are not considerably lower than the use of their development budgets allocated for the third quarter of the financial year. The Department of Agriculture, for example, received RS3B but has only managed to spend RS1.21B.
The Board of Revenue was allocated RS30.5b but used only RS4.79B. The communications and work department spent RS2.91B from its RS4.62B allowance, reflecting the Department of Education, which also received RS4.62B but only spent RS2.91b. The Finance Department used RS1.33B from its RS2.3B budget. Meanwhile, the Forest, Wildlife and Fisheries Department has performed better than most, passing RS296.04b from a massive allocation of RS324.24b.
The health service used RS1.26B of its RS1.98B budget, while the original service only spent RS2.18b of RS25.5b allocated. The Housing and Public Health Engineering Service has known RS1.22B intended for development, with only RS670M spent.
Likewise, the Department of Industry, Trade and Investments has only used RS270m of its RS1.64B budget. The irrigation service spent RS5.85b of its RS19.5b allowance, and the Development Department of Livestock and Dairy Products has managed to use only RS930M from its RS1.97B budget.
Limited progress in other departments
The Department of Affairs of the Act and Parliamentary Affairs spent RS1B of its RS1.41B allowance, while the Mines and Minerals department used RS12.06B on RS31B. The police service was one of the best artists, using RS13.93B from its RS16.25B budget.
Under various spending, RS24.17b was allocated, but only RS7.65B was used.
The results aroused concerns about bureaucratic ineffectiveness and a lack of execution in development planning, especially since the province struggling with socio-economic challenges. The report should arouse difficult questions in the meeting on the Assembly.
