BA budget session Saturday, over Rs 70 billion budget to be presented.

QUETTA, June 19, 2009 (Balochistan Times) -- Record sized rupees 81 billion Balochistan Budget for the fiscal year 2009-2010 would be presented today. Finance Minister Asim Kurd Gailoo would unfurl the budget document during the Balochistan Assembly session at 6 pm today. The budget would be development oriented with special focus on the welfare of masses. Special efforts have been made to ensure more job openings for the youth in the next fiscal year budget, some 5,000 new jobs are expected to provided. There would, however, be a deficit of rupees eight billion, this yawning gap would be filled by different budgetary measures-austerity and Federal assistance. Balochistan Government led by Nawab Muhammad Aslam Raisani is now in a position to come out with a near to tax free budget owing to financial bail out package from Islamabad. Rupees 20 billion development package envisaged in the budget, this amount would help finance several development projects. Major chunk of amount would go to those projects by which major segment of the society could benefit. City of Quetta-once known as Little Paris would be getting rupees three billion as development package, face uplift of the metropolis with others much needed projects would be undertaken. Balochistan Government has managed to meet the tax collection kitty target of rupees 3.6 billion, other three provinces did not meet the tax collection targets. Government of day would focus its attention on health, education, communication sectors. As per decision of the Federal Government, Balochistan would also provide 15 per cent increase in the salaries of its employees. No new tax is expected, but emphasis has been made to enhance the tax base by tapping those sectors who somehow manage not to pay. Members of the Balochistan Assembly would also be provided hefty amount to undertake much development projects in their respective areas. QUETTA: The PPP-led Balochistans coalition government will announce tomorrow its second annual budget for the fiscal year 2009-10, envisaging a total volume amounting to over Rs80 billion with Rs20 billion development budget. As many as Rs20 billion would be allocated for annual development programmes, while Balochistan would also get Rs50 billion as annual development programmes from the federal government. Rs21 billion of development programmes which had not been released by the federal government which had been set in the outgoing fiscal budget for Balochistan. The federal government had already announced to release the Rs21 billion for the cash-strapped Balochistan. Balochistan would get Rs3 billion for Quetta development package, Rs3 billion as peoples programme, and Rs3 billion for overcoming budget deficit from the federal government. The PPP-led Balochistan coalition government will announce its forthcoming annual budget for financial year 2009-10 on Saturday, in Balochistan Assembly, provincial finance ministry officials told reporter here Friday. They said that budget 2009-10 envisaging a total volume amounting to over Rs 70 billion with Rs 20 billion development budget would be presented by finance minister Asim Kurd Gailu at Balochistan Assembly Hall at 6:00 pm. Balochistan Governor Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi has already summoned the Budget Session of Assembly through a notification issued on Wednesday. The provincial budget 2009-10 of Balochistan will be presented at the very last as all the other provinces have already announced their budgets in their respective assemblies. The officials said that the government had given its top-most priority in the budget on improvement of education, health, sanitation and road sectors in the province. The provincial government had planned strict security during the budget session in and around the Assembly, and the assembly secretariat officials had banned issuance of visitors passes and issued passes only to journalists affixed their pictures for the first time in the history of the Assembly, the BA secretariat officials told this news agency.

(THROUGH ASIA PULSE)