Parliament Lodges: Govt fritters away Rs64m on refurbishment

Budget in violation of policy which bars giving of additional funds.

ISLAMABAD:

In violation of its austerity policy, the federal government has sanctioned Rs64 million for the renovation of parliamentarians’ flats and is also considering an increase in the budget for Parliament House and Parliament Lodges in the next financial year by a whopping 44 per cent.

Details emerging from a meeting of the Senate standing committee on finance earlier this week suggest that the budget covers new furniture, curtains and upholstery. The government has issued a dozen tenders and plans to offer a dozen more to complete work before the close of the current financial year on June 30.

The supplementary budget sanctioned by the Ministry of Finance is in violation of the government’s policy not to give any additional funds during the fiscal year, aimed at reducing unnecessary expenditure. It also opposes the austerity drive under up to 30 per cent non-salary budgets of all organisations were cut.

While talking to The Express Tribune, Secretary Finance Dr Waqar Masood insisted that the supplementary budget was an adjustment within the budgetary heads and said there would be no additional burden on the exchequer.

During the first nine months of the fiscal year, the federal government curtailed its budget deficit to 3.1 per cent of the total national output of Rs815 billion.

But the achievement was made by drastically cutting development expenditures and adding the previous fiscal year’s earnings into this fiscal year. The government’s non-development expenditures remained far above the approved thresholds, according to Ministry of Finance officials.

Budget 2014/2015

For the new fiscal year, the federal government is considering allocating Rs490.3 million for the maintenance of Parliament House and Parliament Lodges and paying salaries to maintenance staff. The allocations are exclusive of the money earmarked for legislative affairs. The proposed budget is 44 per cent higher than the revised budget of Rs339.7 million for this fiscal year.

Parliament House

For the current fiscal year, the government had originally allocated Rs215 million for Parliament House. Under its austerity drive, Parliament House’s budget was reduced by Rs41.5 million, according to documents. For the next fiscal, the government has proposed Rs245.2 million for Parliament House – higher by 41 per cent over the revised budget. Out of the proposed allocation, an amount of Rs100 million has been allocated for salaries while the remaining Rs144.9 million will be utilised for maintenance.

Parliament Lodges

For this year, the approved budget for Parliament lodges was Rs215 million. After slashing it by Rs48.7 million, the revised allocation was Rs166.2 million. For the next year, the government has proposed a budget of Rs245.2 million – higher by Rs79 million over the revised budget.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 25^th, 2014.