The Sindh government has planned to save Rs 40 billion through austerity measures that included minimizing non-development expenditure in the budget for the next fiscal year 2021-22.
According to details that have emerged after approval of the budget from the provincial cabinet, the government has proposed minimizing non-development expenditure by 34 percent.
No vehicles would be purchased during the next fiscal year while a balance would also be ensured in provincial spending through financial governance under the plan to adopt austerity measures.
However, the development budget will be given a priority in the Sindh budget 2021-22 with an increase of 48 percent planned in the provincial ADP.
Earlier, the Sindh cabinet approved the provincial budget for the fiscal year 2021-22 with an overall outlay of Rs1.47 trillion.
Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah presided over a special meeting of the provincial cabinet to discuss and approve the budget 2021-22, which he will unveil in the Sindh Assembly session later today.
The provincial government’s spokesperson MurtazaWahab tweeted that the cabinet approved an increase of 20% in salaries of government employees and set the minimum monthly wage at Rs25,000.He said no new tax is being introduced for the next fiscal year by the provincial government.
With a total outlay of over Rs1.4 trillion, Rs222 billion allocation has been earmarked for the provincial development programme in the annual budget, according to government sources.
The provincial government will announce a special development package for Karachi in the new budget, with an allocation of Rs24 billion for launching 10 new mega projects for the metropolis.
In a bid to facilitate low-income groups of society, the Sindh government has decided to launch an affordable housing project in the province.
According to the details, the Sindh government is all set to launch “Peoples Township Project”, an affordable housing scheme, worth Rs 9,420 million.
Under the project, the provincial government will construct 150,000 housing units for the poor across the province.
The Sindh government will also provide plots of 120 square yards each in 23 districts of the province to the poor people.
During the budget speech, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had said that the development outlay for the budget is estimated at Rs329.032 billion, witnessing an increase of 41.3 percent from the previous year.
