K-P provincial budget lauded
He said that it is a balanced budget in which comprehensive measures have been proposed for the improvement and development of all sectors. He expressed these views in a press statement.
He further said that the budget allocated for the departments of Zakat, Ushr, Social Welfare, and Special Education has increased by 135%, bringing the allocation to Rs19.11 billion. The government has also outlined major projects for special children.
Under a key project, centers for children affected by autism will be established at the divisional level at a cost of Rs1.2 billion. Similarly, five new campuses of the "Zamung Kor" institution are being set up for the care and upbringing of orphaned and underprivileged children, with Rs600 million allocated for this initiative.
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The sources said that the Punjab government told the Centre that the provincial cash surplus target could not be met because the Finance Division did not transfer the due share of taxes under the National Finance Commission and the FBR failed to achieve its targets. However, the Finance Ministry authorities were of the view that the other three provinces also received less money compared to the projections but they still performed much better with Balochistan exceeding the IMF target. The finance ministry documents stated that Punjab, with total revenue of Rs4 trillion, spent Rs3.6 trillion, generating a surplus of Rs348 billion. The amount was Rs282 billion or 45% less than the IMF's target of Rs630 billion. Sindh also missed the IMF target by a margin of Rs16 billion or 5.5% and showed a cash surplus of Rs283 billion. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government was almost close to the target with a gap of only Rs2 billion but the Balochistan government exceeded the target by Rs3 billion. 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