Islamabad: The Planning Commission has instructed all ministries and departments to send only approved projects, as well as those falling in line with the government’s COVID-19 response guidelines, for inclusion into the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP), according to the news sources. The ministries have also been directed to allocate between 20-25% of their allotted funds to the approved schemes for PSDP listing; in order to allow these projects to be finished as per their communicated timelines.
These instructions have been given in the wake of the limited resource allocation capacity of the upcoming budget, which reportedly reserves only PKR 530 billion for developmental outlays. The bloc allocation is estimated at PKR 70 billion, which has restricted the total development outlay to PKR 600 billion for FY2020-21; lower than the PKR 701 billion allocated in FY2019-20.
As per reports, this year the budgetary amount allocated for government ministries and divisions would be set at PKR 530 billion; lower than the PKR 575 billion earmarked for the same period last year.
The budget is expected to be revealed in the first week of June; with its drafting exercise having been initiated amid the country’s ongoing coronavirus pandemic situation, and the finance ministry having decided to suspend all Priorities Committee meetings to finalise the current expenditure estimations of ministries and divisions.
The government, further, has deiced to freeze all current expenses in the next financial year’s budget; with only the ministries’ additional current expenditure requirements being catered to in FY2020-21.
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