KARACHI, Pakistan: The Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Sindh government on Tuesday presented the budget for the Financial Year 2021-22 with a total outlay of Rs 1477.903 billion.
The Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, who also holds the Portfolio of Finance Minister, unveiled the Sindh Budget 2021-22 at the Provincial Assembly in Karachi.
Murad Ali Shah said that the total volume of the budget for the next financial year is 19.1 percent more than the previous financial year.
In his budget speech, the minister announced a 20 percent increase in the salaries of the provincial government employees and minimum wages for workers from Rs 17,500 to Rs 25,000. He also proposed a 10 percent increase in the pension of retired employees in the budget.
Murad Ali Shah said that spending on development for the next financial year has been increased by 41.3 percent.
The finance minister said that an amount of Rs 222.500 billion has been earmarked for the Annual Development Programme (ADP) which is 43.5 percent more than the ADP of the current financial year while a 100 percent increase has been made in the district development programme for the next financial year.
Murad Ali Shah said that the Sindh government has decided to continue Rs 30.90 billion social protection programme for the poor as the economic stability package.
The minister said that the government has increased the budget for the education sector by 14.2 percent with an allocation of Rs 277.56 billion whereas Rs 172.08 billion have been earmarked for the health sector which is 29.5 percent higher than the current fiscal year.
In addition, the Sindh government has allocated an amount of Rs 24.73 billion for infectious diseases including COVID-19.
The provincial finance minister announced that the allocation for the agriculture sector has been increased to Rs 15.26 billion from Rs 14.8 billion.
Similarly, an amount of Rs 119.97 billion has been allocated in the Sindh Budget 2021-22 for the law and order in the province.