Punjab caretaker govt approves budget 2023-24

LAHORE: The Caretaker government of Punjab, on Monday approved the budget of Rs 2076.2 billion for the next four months of 2023-24, ARY News reported.

According to the details, the Chief Minister (CM) of Punjab Mohsin Naqvi presided over the meeting of the caretaker Punjab cabinet and approved the budget of Rs 2076.2 billion for the next four months of 2023-24.

The interim government of Punjab has allotted a substantial sum of Rs 1718 billion. This includes an allocation of Rs 50 billion reserved to deliver crucial relief packages to the province’s residents.

Additionally, the health sector has received a noteworthy allocation of Rs 208 billion, while education has been prioritized with Rs 222 billion in funding. The development of the agriculture sector is set to benefit from a dedicated Rs 10 billion.

READ: Punjab cabinet approves FY2023-24 budget

Furthermore, Rs 1.8 billion has been assigned to bolster the National Health Support Program, Rs 5 billion is allocated for the provision of Punjab textbooks, Rs 7.3 billion is committed to addressing the pressing issue of climate change and Rs 351 billion has been approved to fuel ongoing development projects across the province.

It is worth noting that these development initiatives are set to maintain their momentum with the support of foreign funding amounting to Rs 33 billion, ensuring that ongoing projects stay on track and are completed as scheduled.

However, the approved budget of Rs 2073 billion will be rolled out from November 1, meanwhile, an allocation of funds for a 120-day period has been announced.

In a further breakdown of expenditures, Lahore reports an allocation of Rs 130 billion designated for pensions, additionally, a sum of Rs 170 billion has received approval for the disbursement of government employee salaries.

Earlier to this, the Punjab cabinet, in a meeting held under the chairmanship of caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi approved the provincial budget for the first four months of the fiscal year 2023-24 on June 2023.

The cabinet approved a 30 percent increase in salaries of the government employees and the raise would be given under the head of ad hoc relief. Pensioners above 80 years would get a 20 percent increase in their pensions.