LAHORE (Web Desk) - The Punjab government is set to present about Rs5,370 billion budget in the Punjab Assembly here on Thursday (today), with an estimated annual development plan of Rs842 billion.
Finance Minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman will present the budget. The Punjab is likely to get Rs3,700 billion from the Federal Divisible Pool under the National Finance Commission (NFC) award while the provincial revenue target is over Rs1.025 billion.
Salaries, pensions, service delivery
The government will allocate Rs595 billion for salaries, Rs445 billion for pensions, and Rs840 billion for service delivery costs.
Rs842 billion development budget
A sum of Rs842 billion has been earmarked for the development budget. Specific allocations are Rs30 billion for Ramazan Package and Rs8 billion for the Central Business District (CBD).
In the development budget outlines, 1,863 total schemes will be presented - 1,617 are ongoing schemes and 246 new schemes will be launched. The roads sector allocation is over Rs22 billion.
Education and sports
As much as Rs2 billion have been earmarked for special education, Rs3.5 billion for literacy and non-formal education, Rs4.8 billion for sports and youth affairs.
Healthcare and social welfare
Rs76.5 billion have been earmarked for specialised healthcare, Rs33.89 billion for primary healthcare, Rs3 billion for population welfare, Rs2 billion for water supply and sanitation, Rs1.7 billion for social welfare, Rs14 billion for local government and community development, and Rs0.92 billion have been fixed for women development.
Industries, planning and development
More than Rs10 billion have been set aside for industries development, Rs37.3 billion for Planning and Development, Rs24 billion for industry and commerce.
Police
An amount of Rs187 billion has been fixed for police.
Record budget for agriculture
Rs1,070.19 billion record amount has been set aside for agriculture sector which was only Rs79 billion last year. Irrigation department will get Rs63.16 billion budget.
Livestock
A sum of Rs29.54 billion have been set for livestock.
No new tax will be levied in the provincial budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 while the focus will be on recovery of taxes already levied to increase the resources.
The government will ensure the utilisation of natural resources and government assets in the province to increase the revenue generation.
The government has been prioritising the education, health and social security while the implementation on the mega projects will be done through public-private partnership.
The government will continue the subsidy in food and transport sector while industry and agriculture sectors will be given special attention to increase the provincial productivity.
Both local and international investors will be given equal opportunities for investment. The investment will also be made in the IT sector.
The difficulties of the manufacturers and the grievances of the business community will be redressed in the budget.