AJK budget

The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) budget for 2021-22 amounting to Rs141 billion should have been discussed in the Legislative Assembly, rather than suspending the rules to pass it within hours. The budget stipulates an income of Rs114 billion which it is planning to accrue from both external and internal resources. Interestingly, the AJK government is planning to spend nearly the entire amount of anticipated income on recurring expenditure, leaving just one billion rupees for the overdraft adjustment. Nearly one-fourth of the total income will come from the government of Pakistan, which will give Rs28 billion for the AJK annual development programme. This amount also includes foreign aid of two billion rupees.

Overall, the legislative assembly members displayed a disappointing lack of concern for the budget process. With just 20 lawmakers opting to attend the budget session, the assembly presented a forlorn look. A majority of lawmakers preferred to stay away on the pretext of upcoming elections for the AJK Assembly. Though the elections do carry significance for all contenders, being absent from the budget session is not a befitting behaviour for those who claim to represent the will of the people. The tax revenue base of the AJK economy is relatively small with just Rs31 billion coming from this source. Out of a total income of Rs114 billion, just Rs22.6 billion will come as income tax whereas nearly nine billion rupees will come from provincial taxes such as excise duty and others. The AJK has a 3.6 percent share in the federal taxes pool which amounts to nearly Rs60 billion. The state itself will generate Rs22 billion mainly from electricity, with Rs700 million coming from water-use charges and Rs600 million from capital receipts including loans and advances.

A point of concern is that the allocation for health and education is dismally low as the infrastructure sector will get over two-thirds of the development funds. Ideally, the budget should have employed some creative thinking to meet its ambitions keeping in mind AJK’s national resources and should have also focused on innovative future planning. The people of AJK do have a lot of expectations of both their own state government and of the government of Pakistan. Now when the budget has been presented and passed at breakneck speed, it is up to both the governments to make the best possible utilization of resources for the benefit of the people.