MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government will present its budget for the fiscal year 2017-2018 today (Thursday) in the legislative assembly with a development outlay of more than Rs22 billion, almost double compared to the current fiscal year.
The legislative assembly will meet with Speaker Shah Ghulam Qadir in the chair at a temporary hall in Member’s Hostel as the assembly building is proposed to be reconstructed and an amount has been allocated in the federal public sector development program (PSDP) of the coming fiscal year budget.
Minister for Finance, Planning and Development Dr Najeeb Naqi will present the budget for the fiscal year 2017-18 and review expenditures for the current fiscal year.
The total volume of the budget is expected Rs94.14 billion with more than Rs12 billion deficit that would be met with the assistance of federal government while current expenditures are expected to be more than Rs71 billion.
In allocations for the development sector, priority has been given to construction and communication sector for which almost half of development budget amounting Rs9.4 billion has been allocated.
The total income of the government during the next fiscal year has been estimated as Rs82 billion from which Rs20.8 billion has been estimated for its own resources, taxes share from Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council is expected to be Rs14.3 billion, an amount of Rs1.3 billion has been estimated in the head of Mangla water use charges, while share from federal divisible pool has been estimated at Rs26 billion.
