LAHORE: A public friendly Provincial Budget for fiscal year 2023-24 worth Rs4,480 billion was tabled during Punjab Assembly session in Lahore this evening.
Punjab Finance Minister Mian Mujtaba Shuja ur Rehman presented the Provincial Budget in the House.
During his budget speech, the Finance Minister said that the estimate for total income has been made as 3331 Billion 700 Million Rupees. He said that Under the NFC Award, Punjab will get 2706 Billion 400 Million Rupees from the Federal Divisible Pool.
He said that estimates of Provincial Revenue has been estimated as 625 Billion 300 Million Rupees, which is 25 percent more than previous fiscal year. Out of them, Punjab Revenue Authority will generate 240 Billion Rupees, Board of Revenue 99 Billion 200 Million Rupees while Excise Department will generate revenue worth 45 Billion 500 Million Rupees.
Punjab Finance Minister said that under the 30 Billion rupees-Ramadan Nigehban Package, special hampers are being delivered at the doorsteps of deserving families for the first time in Province history.
He said that 10 Billion rupees have been allocated for Pakistan’s largest Nawaz Sharif IT City in Lahore while four billion rupees for IT Infrastructure Investment Program. He said that the Provincial Database Authority is being set up at a cost of 500 Million rupees.
He said that for the education sector, a total allocation of 595 Billion 80 Million rupees has been reserved which makes 26 percent of total non development provincial budget. He said that the new government is going to launch a five year Health Reforms Program and a grant allocation of 473 Billion 620 Million rupees has been made for the Health sector during this fiscal year.
The Finance Minister said that four Overhauling programs for improvement of Rural Health Centers and Basic Health Units have been launched which will cost forty billion rupees. He said that Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment and Research is being set up in Lahore with an estimated cost of thirty billion rupees.
He said that a grand program to construct and repair the eighty roads and highways throughout the province, on which 320 Billion rupees will be spent.