KP budget of Rs900 billion allocates major chunk to development

Peshawar: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Finance Minister Taimoor Saleem Khan Jhagra presented a budget of Rs900 billion at the provincial assembly with a development outlay of Rs236 billion for the fiscal year 2019-20. The session was presided over by Speaker Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani.

Salaries of the chief minister and cabinet members have been cut down by 12 percent. A 10 percent raise has been granted in pension to all pensioners while the minimum wage has been increased to Rs17,500.

From the Rs900 billion budget, Rs693 billion have been marked for settled districts while Rs162 billion for the newly merged districts. KP government will be spending Rs256.0 billion for salary payments, Rs69.9 billion for pensions, Rs93.5 billion on Non-salary (O&M and Contingency and District Non-Salary), Rs108.0 billion for the Provincial Annual Development Programme (ADP), Rs46.0 billion for the district ADP, Rs82.0 billion for the projects under foreign development assistance and Rs37.6 billion for other projects. The province would receive Rs453.2 billion as Federal Tax Assignments, Rs54.5 billion for its suffering as a result of war on terror, Rs25.6 billion as oil and gas royalties, Rs21.2 billion as Net Hydel Profit, Rs34.5 billion as NHP arrears. An amount of Rs 7 billion will be spend across the current and development budgets for facility enhancement of facilities at Peshawar Institute of Cardiology, KTH, LRH, HMC, Institute of Kidney Diseases, Saidu Hospital, Fountain House Peshawar and others. Another Rs2.8 million has been allocated for promoting Green Growth and Rs9.5 billion for the construction and improvement of small dams, flood protection walls, water supply schemes and canal roads throughout the settled districts.

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