KP cabinet okays austerity measures to overcome financial constraints

PESHAWAR: A special meeting of the provincial cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan formally approved the budget proposals for the financial year 2020-21 on Friday.

It approved proposed austerity measures to overcome the issue of financial constraints being faced by the government due to the prevailing corona situation, said an official handout. The measures are expected to save from Rs 5 billion to 10 billion for the provincial exchequers during the next financial year.

These include a ban on the purchase of new vehicles of 1600 and above CC for government functionaries, foreign training, tours and medical treatment of government officials on public expenses.

Other measures proposed are banning official workshops and seminars at five-star hotels, launching projects involving the purchase of new vehicles and the creation of new vacancies without the prior approval of the Finance Department, expenditure against the expected supplementary grants, cuts on non-salary components of the current budget and the ban on new hiring without obtaining NOC from the surplus pool.

However, the ban on new hiring will not apply to recruitments against the newly created positions for newly merged districts. All the autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies will also be bound to adopt these austerity measures.

The cabinet was given a detailed briefing on various aspects of the budget, including the annual development programme, budget estimates, revenue targets, finance bill and supplementary budget, etc.

The cabinet was informed that the total volume of the new budget was Rs.923 billion whereas the revenue target for the next financial year was set at Rs 49 billion. The chief minister termed the budget as a balanced and the best in the prevailing scenario. He said neither any new tax had been levied and nor the rates of the existing taxes increased in the budget.

He said a major chunk of the upcoming Annual Developmental Programme had been allocated for the completion of ongoing and due for completion schemes, adding that more than 600 ongoing developmental schemes will be completed during the next financial year. Mahmood Khan directed the provincial ministers and administrative secretaries of all the departments for result-oriented steps to ensure the completion of all the schemes.