The inaugural meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Thursday okayed a supplementary budget of Rs. 24 billion to pay liabilities and other backlogs resulting from unrealistic annual allocations.
Overall, the meeting approved nine supplementary grants. The Finance Secretary highlighted the intention to discourage future technical supplementary grants to maintain fiscal discipline, utilizing contingency funds for the approved grants, reported a national daily.
The ECC endorsed an additional Rs. 7 billion subsidy for Gilgit-Baltistan residents, Rs. 4.1 billion to settle SME Bank employees’ liabilities, and Rs. 5 billion for subsidized wheat flour and cooking oil supply.
Other allocations include Rs. 1.6 billion to clear media houses’ outstanding dues, Rs. 3.8 billion for a foreign loan covering Higher Education Commission expenses, Rs. 1.7 billion for Passport Office employees abroad, Rs. 300 million for Pakistan Rangers’ uniform procurement, and Rs. 433 million for a new battalion for Pakistan Coast Guards. The ECC also approved Rs. 103 million for the Frontier Corps Balochistan to repair a VVIP’s helicopter.
The ECC emphasized utilizing the forum for economic decisions instead of dispersing budgets to ministries. It bears mentioning that Pakistan has committed to the IMF not to release further supplementary grants, with the approved Rs. 24 billion technical grants sourced from contingency funds.
