News
Thursday, June 21, 2012
AJK announces Rs 49.59 billion tax-free budget* Finance minister says Rs 15.31 billion to be generated from state resources, Rs 840 million from Mangla Dam royalty, Rs 7.4 billion from AJK Council tax
MIRPUR: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government on Wednesday announced a total of Rs 49.59 billion revenue-oriented tax-free budget for the next fiscal year, with revenue expenditures estimated at Rs 40.05 billion and deficit of Rs 5.1 billion.
The budget was announced by AJK Finance Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Ashraf in the AJK Legislative Assembly, which met in Muzaffarabad.
“An amount of Rs 9,547.036 million has been allocated for the development sector with Rs 40,050 million recurrent budget for the next fiscal year,” he informed the House. The AJK assembly was told that the development budget was 15 percent more than that of the fiscal year 2011-12.
In his keynote address to lawmakers, the finance minister said that the PPP government had presented a well-balanced and public-friendly budget for the first time in its five-year term, and almost all the sectors had been focused.
Elaborating the salient features of the budget, he said that from the total revenue collection, an amount of Rs 15.310 billion would be generated from state resources, whereas Rs 840 million would come as Mangla Dam royalty, Rs 7.4 billion as tax collection from AJK Council and a share of Rs 11.4 billion from the federal government.
He revealed that the revised budget for the fiscal year 2012-13 had been estimated at Rs 40.05 billion and the government was likely to generate Rs 4.08 billion from provincial excise, Rs 70 million from land record and settlement, 120 million from stamps, Rs 350 million from forest, Rs 40.0 million from registration. Rs 400,000 from jails, Rs 25 million from administration of justice, Rs 18 million from Home Department, Rs 58 million from Education, Rs 13 million from health, Rs 3.5 million from agriculture, Rs 13.0 million from animal husbandry, Rs 25 million from industries, labour and minerals, Rs 1.50 million from sericulture, Rs 774.57 million under the head of miscellaneous, Rs 135 million from communications and works, Rs 8.933 billion from electricity, Rs 10 million from printing press, Rs 17 million from armed services board, Rs 26 million from religious affairs, Rs 570 million from food and Rs 27 million from tourism, wildlife and fisheries.
He said the total revenue generation had been estimated at Rs 40.05 billion with Rs 5.1 billion deficit, which would be met by the federal government.
While mentioning the development sector, the minister revealed that Rs 215 million for agriculture and livestock, Rs 33 million for civil defence, Rs 135 million for development authorities, Rs 887.017 million for education, Rs 15 million for environment, Rs 148.337 million for foreign-aided projects, Rs 317 million for forests, fisheries & wildlife, Rs 587.08 million for health, Rs 115 million for information technology, Rs 186 million for industries, Rs 770 million for local government, Rs 1,130 for hydroelectric power and Rs 3,917 million for communications had been allocated for the fiscal year 2012-13. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk