ISLAMABAD – The Finance Division has yet to provide Indicative Budget Ceiling (IBC) to the planning ministry for the Public Sector Development Programme 2024-25, as the ministry has sought a hike of Rs 200 billion, over the ongoing fiscal year, in the federal developmental budget.
The planning ministry has received demands of over Rs 2.9 trillion for development projects from the ministries/divisions for the upcoming PSDP 2024-25. The meetings of the priorities committees, to shortlist important project for the PSDP, have already been skipped, a source told The Nation. Usually meetings of the priority committees take place prior to APCC, which was not conducted for next fiscal year.
The meeting of the Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APCC) has been proposed for next week, the source said.”We have proposed to hold the meeting on 27th or 28th May for the meeting, however no date has been finalized yet,” the source added. Usually, Finance Division provides IBC for the PSDP by mid May, which has not been provided so far, said the source. After the planning ministry receives the IBC, the ministries/divisions will be asked to make the projects within the ambit of the ceiling, the source said. In the absence of IBC, it is hard to make a realistic PSDP, it added. Initially, the PSDP allocation during ongoing FY 2023-24 was Rs 950 billion which included Rs 875 billion of rupee component, while Rs 75 billion was FEC component. However, now the rupee component has been slashed by Rs 10 billion to Rs 865 billion, which has resulted in a reduction of PSDP allocations to Rs 940 billion.
Now, the planning ministry has sought a hike of Rs 200 billion, over the ongoing fiscal, in the PSDP 2024-25 allocations, the source said. So far, the ministry of planning has received demands of over Rs 2.9 trillion for development projects from the ministries/divisions for the upcoming PSDP 2024-25. It is worthy to note that the releases of Public Sector Development Programme (2023-24) funds for the development projects have come to a standstill as no authorization for the releases had been issued by the planning ministry during the months of February to April.
During the last month of the caretaker government and first two months of the incumbent PML(N) government, no authorization of PSDP funds has been issued, official data revealed. During the first seven months of the ongoing fiscal year 2023-4 (July to January), the ministry of planning had issued the authorization for the release of Rs 507.980 billion, however, since then (February to April) no release has been sanctioned, the documents revealed.
