The annual budget of Gilgit-Baltistan for the fiscal year 2021-22 was presented with a total volume of Rs 106 billion.
On Saturday, the Finance Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, Javed Ali Manwa presented the Annual Budget for the fiscal year 2021-22 with a total outlay of Rs 106 billion. The Minister said that Rs 51.7 billion has been allocated for the non-development program while more than Rs 44.22 has been reserved for development plans.
He added that from development expenditures, R.18 billion has been proposed to be spent on the Annual Development Program (ADP) of the regional government and Rs 20 billion has been planned to be spent on the projects of the Federal Public sector development Programme. Rs 6 billion will be spent on other PSDP projects for the next fiscal year.
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The Minister said that the current budget is 54% more than the previous one. During the speech, he said, “The non-development budget for the coming fiscal year is also 47 % higher as compared to the allocation of the outgoing fiscal year.”
Rs 106 billion Gilgit Baltistan budget for fiscal year 2021-22 presented
The federal government has also increased the amount of non-development programs for Gilgit-Baltistan from Rs 32 billion last year to Rs 47 billion this year. In the budget of GB, an amount of Rs 8 billion has been reserved as wheat subsidy which is 33% more than the amount, allocated in the budget of last fiscal year.
For 115 new schemes in the education department, an amount of Rs 4.5 billion has been allocated other than the regular budget allocation of Rs 347 million for the same department. Rs 4.1 billion has been allocated for 97 new schemes in the health department along with Rs 601 million as the regular budget for the health department.
The amount of the regular budget for the Gilgit Baltistan health department is 67% more than the amount which was reserved in the last budget. Rs 1.5 has been proposed to be spent on the reforms in the health department. An amount of Rs 5 billion has been allocated for the Chief Minister’s Special Intervention for Underdeveloped Areas. Rs 1.2 billion which have been proposed to be spent on Works Department is 111% more than the previous amount, allocated for the same.
Moreover, around Rs 1.3 billion, reserved for the power department is also 138% more than the previous allocation. Similarly, the amount which is Rs 760, proposed to be spent in Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Department is 104% more than the amount, allocated previously. In the budget, it has also been proposed to increase the minimum wages of workers at Rs 20,000.
