Rs 327 billion Sindh budget shows Rs 16.8 billion deficit

Tuesday June 16, 2009

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah on Monday unveiled in Sindh Assembly Rs 327.182 billion budget for fiscal year 2009-10, marking "a big" deficit of Rs 16.84 billion. The proposed budget showed an increase of 22 percent against the current fiscal year's revised estimates of Rs 267.568 billion.

As per proposed budget, total revenue receipts are estimated at Rs 310.34 billion, which are Rs 42 billion higher than current year's revised revenue estimates of Rs 268.271 billion. The Chief Minister, who also holds the portfolio of finance, however, told the house that the bulk of increase in new fiscal receipts was on account of possibility of getting arrears on account of sale of land and the province's revenue held in bank guarantees.

Estimated revenue receipts from Divisible Pool, including Grant-in-Aid, are Rs 125 billion, with 12.7 percent increase over 2008-09 budget. The estimates under oil and gas receipts are Rs 50 billion and these are six percent less than current year's revised estimates of Rs 53.4 billion. Overall federal transfers are estimated at Rs 204.6 billion as against revised estimates of Rs 183.2 billion.

The province's own receipts have been pitched at Rs 39 billion with an increase of over 29 percent over revised estimates of outgoing year. On the expenditure side, the current revenue expenditure has been estimated at Rs 213.4 billion, with an increase of 15 percent over revised estimates of Rs 185 billion.

The current capital budget has a surplus of Rs 5.4 billion as Sindh government is expecting "Budget Support Loans" from World Bank and Asian Development Bank. The shares of local governments have been worked out to Rs 94.4 (including Rs 27.6 billion of District Support Grant) on the basis of PFC Award, and it reflects an increase of 21 percent over budget 2008-09.


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