Balochistan announces Rs74.247 bln deficit budget

QUETTA: The PPP-led Balochistan coalition government on Saturday presented Rs 74.247 billion tax-free budget with an overall deficit of Rs 8.332 billion for the fiscal year 2009-10. “The budget envisages development programme of Rs 18.536 billion including Rs 5.107 billion of foreign project assistance-FPA and with current budget of Rs 53.081 billion,” provincial finance minister Asim Kurd Gailu said in his speech while presenting the second annual budget of the coalition government in Balochistan assembly here on Saturday. “Keeping in view burden of common man, our next budget is tax-free,” the finance minister said, adding that total estimated receipts are Rs 59.054 billion out of which Rs 3.645 billion as the province’s own income including Rs 1.132billion as tax while Rs 2.512 non-tax receipts, and Rs 55.408 billion as federal transfers including Rs 12.227 billion direct transfers, Rs 13.975 billion subvention/grants and Rs 29.204 as share in tax. In comparison with the outgoing budget, the total estimated receipts of Rs 59.054 billion of the budget 2009-10 are lesser than the outgoing fiscal budget of Rs 62.38 billion. The deficit in the budget is amounting to Rs 8.832 billion as the deficit budget in outgoing financial year was as Rs 8.80 billion. The finance minister said that the deficit amounting to Rs 8.832 billion would be met from promised grants of Rs 3 billion by the federal government set for budgetary support, Rs 3 billion set for public representative programme-PRP and remaining deficit of Rs 2.332 billion would be met be enhancing province’s own resources. About relief to government servants in the coming fiscal year, Asim Kurd Gailu said that he was pleased to announce ad-hoc relief allowance of 15 per cent of serving government servants and 15 per cent increase in pension of retired servants of Balochistan government from July 1, 2009. Regarding measures which had so far been taken for ending unemployment in Balochistan, he said that the provincial government had created 4212 new posts in various departments during the last one year aimed at reducing unemployment in the province. Referring to financial crunch being faced by the cashed-strapped Balochistan government, the finance minister said that chief minister Nawab Muhammad Aslam Raisani had evolved two pronged strategy for putting the fledgling economy back on track. These included; initiating reconciliation with annoyed (Baloch) political forces (for improving law and order) and contacting the federal government for conversion of over draft into soft loan. Despite conversion of the over draft into soft loan, Asim Kurd Gailu said that the government was paying Rs 350 million per month to State Bank of Pakistan. Later, President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani and Adviser on Finance Shaukat Tarin had graciously decided to freeze the over draft for six months up to June, thereafter, it was to be picked up by the federal government as result of efforts which had been made by the provincial government led by Nawab Raisani, he added. The provincial government had put security on high alert during the budget session in and around the assembly, and the assembly secretariat officials had banned issuance of visitors’ passes and issued passes only to journalists affixed their pictures for the first time in the history of the assembly. A large number police, ATF and other law enforcement agencies were deployed around the assembly building during the budget session.