LAHORE - The Punjab government during third quarter of 2012-13, in Jan-Mar period, will end up total development budget of Rs250 billion projected for the whole current financial year, including a shortfall of Rs30 billion funds.
Official sources in provincial finance department said the government has so far consumed over 75 per cent of annual development programme (ADP) of Rs220 billion, which also consists of foreign loans and funds of Rs12 billion.
The spending of annual development schemes in more than half financial year of 2012-13 compose around 95 per cent of the total development expenditures of Rs165 of 2011-12, they observed.
It is to be noted that Punjab has recorded budget surplus of Rs53.56 billion during first quarter of the year 2012-13, as expenditure recorded at Rs105.75 billion against revenue of Rs159.3 billion. The break-up of Rs159.31 billion revenue revealed that Punjab received Rs128.66 billion from federal government under the head of provincial share in federal revenue.
The provincial tax collection of the Punjab government stood at only Rs10.8 billion during this period of the ongoing financial year. Non-tax collection of the Punjab government remained at Rs12.25 billion and federal loans and grants recorded at Rs7.58 billion.
Experts said that a robust cash surplus from provinces of Rs293 billion helped the federal government contain fiscal deficit at 2.4 per cent of GDP in first half of the current fiscal. They said that all the provincial governments recorded budget surplus of Rs108.52 billion during first quarter of the current fiscal year that helped the federal government to keep budget deficit at 1.2 per cent.
According to figures of the finance ministry, the provincial’s governments expenditures recorded at Rs244.48 billion against their revenue of Rs353 billion thus recording budget surplus of Rs108.52 billion. The federal government was able to curtail budget deficit 1.2 per cent during first quarter against the last year of 1.3 per cent of the GDP mainly due to budget surplus of four provinces.
The Sindh recorded budget surplus of Rs37.38 billion and the expenditure recorded at Rs66.13 billion as compared to the revenue of Rs103.51 billion. It received Rs73 billion from federal government under the head of provincial share in federal revenue. The figures further revealed that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded budget surplus of Rs1.35 billion, as expenditure recorded at Rs49.946 billion against the revenue of Rs51.3 billion. It recorded Rs43.27 billion from federal government under the head of provincial share in federal revenues. The Balochistan recorded budget surplus of Rs16.226 billion. The expenditure of recorded at Rs22.65 billion as compared to revenue of Rs38.88 billion. It received Rs32.82 billion from federal government under the head of provincial share in federal revenue.
Financial experts attributed the fast pace of development works in Punjab to the upcoming elections and added that the entire provincial development strategy is entirely focused on a few urban areas due to political needs.
They said that Punjab government should spend more funds on energy exploration, investing in small dams on canals for power generation, the base of the provincial industry, rather than on projects like the metro bus. The economists said that the government development priorities and its failure to address energy needs are dragging down growth in the province, leading to unemployment.