Sindh presents Rs578bn deficit budget

By
AFP
|
Sindh presents Rs578bn deficit budget
KARACHI: The coalition government of Sindh unveiled the province's annual budget for 2012-13 envisaging a total outlay of Rs578 billion here at Sindh Assembly on Monday.

Provincial Minister for Finance, Syed Murad Ali presented the budget at a special session of the Sindh Assembly chaired by Speaker Nisar Khuhro.

The provincial budget sets the target for its total revenue receipts at Rs570 billion while Rs231 billion have been set aside for the development programme.

The Minister said that Group Life Insurance for the government servants has been doubled, adding as many as 20,000 employments will be provided to the citizens of the province in the next fiscal.

An allocation of Rs117 billion has been made for education sector.

Murad Ali Shah claimed that the present government had spent Rs644 billion on development expenditure during the last 5 years while rehabilitation of flood-stricken areas was carried out at an accelerated pace.

He said the deficit for the outgoing fiscal was recorded at Rs7 billion, adding provision of uplift funds was mainly responsible for the same.

The provincial Financial Minister believed that building of Zulfiqarabad will boost Sindh's progress and the government wished that Chinese companies set up their businesses in the proposed area.

He said the Sindh Bank had so far issued more than Rs430 million loans to 2,000 growers of the province. The Bank also provided assistance of Rs5 billion for wheat procurement.