MIRPUR - A total Rs 55685.0 million revenue-oriented tax-free budget of Azad Jammu & Kashmir for financial year 2013-14, has been announced on Thursday. The budget involves recurring expenditures totaled to around Rs 45,185 million and deficit of Rs 7,400 million, increasing the salaries and pensions of the government employees to 15 percent, AJK finance minister Chaudhry Latif Akber declared.
Presenting the budget in special budget session of AJK Legislative Assembly in Muzaffarabad on Thursday AJ&K Finance Minister Chaudry Latif Akber said that an amount of Rs 10,500 million has been allocated for development sector with Rs 45,185 million recurrent budget for the coming fiscal year. He informed the House that the development budget has been increased around nine percent for next fiscal, compared to the financial year 2011-12. In his key note address to the AJ&K Lawmakers, Akber said that the PPP government has presented a well-balanced and public-friendly budget for the fiscal year 2013-14 of its five years term, and almost all the sectors have been focused.
Elaborating the salient features of the budget, the Finance Minister stated that from total revenue collection, an amount of Rs14,176 million will be generated from state resources whereas Rs 809 million as water uses charges of Mangla, Rs 9,200 million as 80pc of income tax from AJ&K Council and a share of Rs 1Rs3,600 million from federal tax share will be collected. He revealed to the house that recurring budget for the fiscal year 2013-14 has been estimated as Rs 45,185 million and the sectors from which government is likely to generate income is estimated as Rs4,516 million from Provincial Excise, Rs69 million from Land Record and Settlement, Rs 132.25 million from Stamps, Forest Rs402.5 million, Registration Rs57.5 million. Jails Rs0.345 million, Administration of Justice Rs40.2 million, home department Rs50 million, education Rs110 million, health Rs39.4 million, agriculture Rs4.16 million, animal husbandry Rs13 million, industries, labor & minerals Rs27.65 million, sericulture Rs1.84 million, miscellaneous Rs600 million, communication and works Rs202 million, electricity Rs10,050 million, printing press Rs11.5 million, Armed Services board Rs25.2 million, religious affairs Rs29.81 million, food Rs805 million, tourism, wild life & fisheries Rs34.5 million. The Minister for Finance told the House those Rs3.04 million are to be adjusted as overdraft to be paid to State Bank of Pakistan. Total revenue generation has been estimated as Rs45,185 million with deficit which will be met by the federal government.
Akbar informed the house that Rs1,791 million have been allocated for General Administration, Rs591.42 million for Board of Revenue, Rs13.59 million for Stamps, Rs18.31 million for Land Record & Settlement, Rs691.51 million for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction, Rs4,000 million for Pensions, Rs77.120 for Public Relations department, Rs810.62 million for administration of justice, Rs3,387 million for Police, Rs102.97 million for Jails, Rs74.95 million for Civil Defense, Rs45.71 million for Armed Services Board, Rs1,995 million for Communication and Works, Rs15,819 million for education, Rs3,569 for Public Health, Rs50.99 million for Sports, Youth & Culture, Rs113 million for Religious Affairs, Rs176.7 for Social Welfare & Women Development, Rs466 for Agriculture, Rs458.77 million for Animal Husbandry, Rs146.86 million for Food, Rs2,500 for state trading, Rs617.83 million for Forest, Rs45.58 million for Co-operative, Rs5,4,17 million for Electricity, Rs343.55 for Local Government & Rural Development, Rs91.26 million for Industries & Minerals, Rs37.44 million for Printing Press, Rs57.62 million for Sericulture, Rs101.17 million for Tourism, Wild Life & Fisheries and Rs1,572.32 million in miscellaneous which totals Rs45,185 million allocation for non-developmental sector.
Having some increase in development sector Minister for Finance stated that Rs10,500 million has been estimated to be spent in fiscal 2013-14. It includes Rs237 million for Agriculture & Live stock, Rs36 million for Civil Defense, Rs150 million for Development Authorities, Rs879.3 million for Education, Rs25 million for Environment, Rs150 million for foreign aided projects, Rs350 million for Forest, Fisheries & Wild Life, Rs300 million for health; Rs5 million for Information & Media Development, Rs125 million for Information Technology, Rs195 million for Industries, Rs25 million for transport, Rs850 million for Local Government, Rs1245 million for Power, Rs690 million for Physical Planning and Housing, Rs110 for rehabilitation and resettlement, Rs100 million for Research & development, Rs31 million for Social Welfare, Rs155 million for Sports, Rs4726 million for Transport & Communications and for Tourism Rs115 million (total amount of 10,500.000 million) for the fiscal year 2012-13, showing about ten percent increase in previous year’s development budget.