Punjab Finance Minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman presented the provincial budget for the last quarter of the fiscal year 2023-24 worth Rs4.48 trillion in today’s Punjab Assembly session.
During his budget speech, Rehman said the estimate for total income is Rs3331.7 billion. He said that Punjab will get Rs2706.4 billion from the Federal Divisible Pool Under the NFC Award.
He said that provincial revenue has been estimated at Rs625.3 billion, which is 25 percent higher than the previous fiscal year. Out of this, the Punjab Revenue Authority will generate Rs240 billion, Board of Revenue Rs99.2 billion and the Excise Department Rs45.5 billion.
The finance minister said that under the Rs30 billion Ramadan Package, special hampers are being delivered at the doorsteps of deserving families for the first time in the province’s history. He said that Rs10 billion have been allocated for Pakistan’s largest Nawaz Sharif IT City in Lahore and Rs4 billion for the IT Infrastructure Investment Programme. He said the Provincial Database Authority is being set up at a cost of Rs500 million.
Rehman said that for the education sector, a total allocation of Rs595.8 billion has been made and it makes 26 percent of the total non-development provincial budget. He said the new government is going to launch a five year Health Reforms Programme and a grant allocation of Rs473.62 billion has been made for the health sector during this fiscal year.
The finance minister said that four overhauling programmes for improvement of Rural Health Centers and Basic Health Units have been launched which will cost Rs40 billion. He said the Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment and Research is being set up in Lahore with an estimated cost of Rs30 billion.
He said that Rs320 billion has been allocated for construction and repair of 80 roads and highways throughout the province.
