ISLAMABAD – Sindh budget with a total outlay of Twelve hundred seventeenbillion (1217) rupees zero deficit for next financial year 2019-20 has beenpresented on Friday.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah who also holds the portfolio ofFinance presented budget in Sindh Assembly.
Our Karachi correspondent Muhammad Waqas reports that fifteen percentincrease in the salaries and pension across the board has been announced inthe budget.
A programme for poverty reduction has also been announced. In the nextbudget, first priority in terms of budgetary allocations has been be givento education then health and law and order.
The revenue targets of the province have been revised from 243.082 billionrupees to 240.746 billion rupees. As a result, against an estimatedbudgetary amount of 1.123 trillion rupees, the revised receipts for CurrentFinancial Year stand at 963.699 billion rupees.
The total receipts of the province for the financial year 2019-20 areestimated at 1.217 trillion rupees against an estimated expenditure of1.217 trillion rupees. As Federal Transfers, the province is expected toreceive 835.375 billion rupees. Receipts from Federal Government willaccount for 74.3 percent of the total receipts.
On the current revenue side, the expenditure budget is estimated at 870.217billion rupees which shows an increase of 12.5 percent over the currentyear allocation of 773.237 billion rupees. This increase in expenditure isprimarily in the employee related expenses which could not have beenavoided. Similarly, the impact of increasing utilities has been absorbed.Our austerity policy shall continue during the next financial year. We haveintroduced major cuts in operating expenses. However, it would not be doneat the cost of social sectors.
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An amount of 283.5 billion rupees has been earmarked for developmentprojects which include Provincial and District Annual Development Programme.
Presenting the budget in the House, Syed Murad Ali Shah said thatallocation for school education has been increased from 170.832 billionrupees to 178.618 billion rupees in the next financial year, 2019-20,whereas, on development side, 15.15 billion rupees have been allocated inADP 2019-20.
An amount of 13.50 billion rupees has been earmarked for Health sector tobring improvement in it while 109.788 billion rupees allocated in the headof law and order in the province.
Sindh Chief Minister announced an increase of 15 percent in pay as adhocrelief allowance for all employees of Grade-1 to Grade-22 and 15 percentincrease in the pension of pensioners.
The Chief Minister announced 17 thousand rupees as minimum wage for workers.
