Rs51b approved for voter-influencing schemes

Decisions include supplementary grants of Rs80 million for PM’s house renovation

ISLAMBAD:

The federal government on Monday approved a Rs51 billion budget for spending on the schemes recommended by the parliamentarians aimed at luring voters in the upcoming general elections.

The government also approved prices for 25 types of medicines.

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet took this decision and also approved a supplementary grant of Rs80 million for the refurbishment of the prime minister’s house. The money will be utilised for the renovation of the PM’s House auditorium – the residence of PM Shehbaz Sharif.

The Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination submitted a summary regarding the fixation of maximum retail prices of 26 new drugs.

After detailed discussion, the ECC approved the fixation of Maximum Retail Prices (MPRs) for 25 new drugs, according to the finance ministry’s handout.

The ECC approved a technical supplementary grant of Rs47.1 billion for the Ministry of Housing and Works to execute development schemes under SDGs Achievement Program (SAP) in Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) provinces, according to the finance ministry.

The Cabinet Division had surrendered Rs47.2 billion to the Ministry of Housing and Works, which will now spend the amount in four federating units as per the instructions of the federal government. Out of the Rs47.1 billion, a sum of Rs26.9 billion has been allocated from this fiscal year’s Rs90 billion budget.

The remaining Rs20.3 billion is from the last fiscal year’s leftover funds. Another Rs1.1 billion has been allocated for the execution of gas schemes in Punjab. The amount will be utilised through the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL).

The ECC also approved Rs2.7 billion as a supplementary grant for the power division to execute development schemes in Punjab, Sindh, KP, and Balochistan provinces under the Sustainable Development Goals Achievement Program (SAP).

Last week, the government approved the immediate release of more than Rs61.3 billion for the parliamentarians’ schemes aimed at utilising the maximum amount for politically-oriented projects before the end of its term.

The ECC approved Rs26.4 billion for spending in Punjab in the constituencies of the ruling alliance. A sum of Rs9.3 billion is allocated to Sindh, and another Rs9 billion will go to K-P for spending on the parliamentarians’ schemes. Balochistan will receive Rs2.6 billion or 5.5% of the ECC-approved budget.

As per the finance ministry guidelines, overall 15% of the annual budget can be used in the first quarter, but the ministry provided an exception to this clause for the parliamentarians’ schemes.

However, in the case of parliamentarians’ schemes, about 56% of the budget has been allocated in the first month of this fiscal year, in relaxation of these guidelines.

The ECC also approved Rs80 million as an additional budget for the Ministry of Housing for the refurbishment of the PM House’s auditorium.

Due to a meagre allocation for repair and maintenance during the current fiscal year, Pakistan PWD has requested additional funds of Rs80 million through a technical supplementary grant for the rehabilitation and refurbishment of the PM’s House auditorium for state functions, the ECC was informed.

The ECC also approved Rs10 billion as a supplementary grant for PM’s Youth Business & Agriculture Loan Scheme. The Ministry of National Food Security submitted a summary for the allocation of PASSCO’s wheat amongst recipient agencies, provinces, and special areas for the year 2023-24.

It informed that the recipient agencies have made their demand for 2.5 million metric tonnes of wheat for the food year 2023-24. The ECC allowed allocation of wheat amongst the recipients at the rate of 50% local and 50% imported wheat based on the weighted average price of the stock.

The ECC further directed that all recipients would pay the full price of wheat and incidental charges of PASSCO, as there would be no financial liability on the part of the federal government for supplying the wheat to the respective provinces.

The ECC also directed the provincial governments to pay the pending liabilities of Rs149 billion of PASSCO before signing the MoU for the procurement of wheat for the current year, said the finance ministry.

The ECC approved a summary of the Ministry of Industries and Production regarding amendments in the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) Authority Rules.

It allowed the import of construction material from tariff areas into EPZs of the Northern region (Sialkot, Gujranwala, and Risalpur) as well as all future EPZs in the local currency instead of foreign convertible currency for their speedy colonisation and achievement of optimum export targets.

This permission has been given on the condition that this relaxation would be for locally manufactured products by Pakistani entrepreneurs for a period of the next five years.