KP govt allocates Rs11b for forests, environment

Budget 2024-25
KP allocates Rs26.7bln for wheat subsidy, Rs34bln for Sehat Card
JAVED KHAN
PESHAWAR
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Friday presented a Rs 1.7trillion budget for the financial year 2024-25 here in the Provincial Assembly.
Presenting the budget, KP finance minister Aftab Alam announced Rs11.8 billion in the current budget for Environment and Forests.
Of the allocated budget for the Environment and Forests sectors more than Rs 10.29 billion have been allocated for Settled Districts and over Rs 1.7 billion for Merged Districts.
He said that the provincial government has decided to tackle the challenge of food security by earmarking Rs26.7 billion allocation in the current budget for the wheat subsidy.
According to budget documents, Rs3.0 billion have been allocated for the public sector universities of the province.
In the fiscal budget 2023-24, Rs1 billion have been earmarked for KP information technology board. Meanwhile a total of Rs34 billion have been allocated for Sehat Card Plus. In addition,Rs 13 billion allocated for allied hospitals of the province, while Rs8.4 billion for medical colleges and more than Rs33 billion earmarked for KP’s Medical and Teaching Institutes (MTIs).
In an effort to ensure affordable travel to over 300,000 commuters in the provincial capital, the KP government in the current budget granted Rs3 billion for Urban Mobility Peshawar BRT.
A sum of Rs 0.7 billion has been allocated for TEVTA in the budget and Rs3.71 billion for transport and Mass Transit.
KP finance minister Aftab Alam in his budget speech maintained that the government has allocated Rs28 billion for the agriculture sector and more than Rs8 billion for the social welfare department.
He said that the current allocation for the social welfare sector is six per cent higher than the past fiscal year, adding that funds for shelter houses in the merged districts have been increased from Rs300 million to Rs600 million.
He said that one lakh youth will get employment under the programs, Rs3 billion have been allocated for the Ehsaas Apna Ghar program, adding that unde the program 5000 houses will be constructed in the province.
The finance minister stated that in the current financial year a total of Rs10 billion has been allocated to the CRBC Lift Canal.
To tackle the emergency, the provincial government has allocated more than Rs2 billion for relief and rehabilitation initiatives in the province, he added and said that the government has allocated Rs31 billion for the energy sector of the province in the current fiscal year.
The Finance Minister said that air ambulance service is being started in KP under the development budget and medical and dental colleges will be established under the public and private partnership formula.
According to the budget documents, the provincial government has increased development expenditure from 40 to 50 percent in the current financial years.
The documents of the budget revealed that the provincial government in the current budget has allocated Rs630 billion for salaries of government employees in the settled and merged districts. A total of Rs166 billion have been earmarked for the pensions in the budget for the 2024-25.
The development budget of the province stands at Rs 259 billion, with Rs 24 billion allocated for district annual development plan (ADP), and Rs 36 billion for merged districts ADP and Rs 79 billion for Accelerated Implementation Program (AIP).
Additionally, Rs 130 billion are earmarked for projects supported by external aid, and Rs 26 billion for federally supported ongoing projects.
While giving details of the budget 2024-25, Aftab Alam said that the provincial government government anticipated receiving a total 1754 billion under different heads during the fiscal year 2024-25 including 1212.036 billion from the federal government under Federal Tax Assignment, one percent of divisible pool on war on terror, Straight Transfer under the head of royalties and surcharge on oil and gas, windfall levy and net hydel profit.