PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s caretaker Chief Minister, Mohammad Azam Khan, presided over a meeting on Monday to discuss the budget preparation for the upcoming financial year 2023-24.
The meeting focused on matters related to financial strategy, budget formulation for the first quarter of the next fiscal year, and other budget-related aspects.
During the meeting, the participants were briefed on budget estimates for the first quarter of the new fiscal year, initial outlines, the annual development program, and various other budgetary aspects.
The financial challenges faced by the provincial government, budgeting difficulties, and proposed measures to overcome these challenges were also discussed.
It was decided that a briefing would be provided to the Prime Minister in the coming days regarding the financial difficulties faced by the province.
Additionally, a request for special support from the central government would be made in order to address these challenges effectively.
Chief Minister Azam Khan emphasized the importance of avoiding unnecessary expenses in the budget preparation process.
He also directed the relevant authorities to ensure the judicious allocation of funds for development projects and to present realistic figures in the new budget.
In a separate development, the policy board of the Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization (PEDO) increased the water usage charges for private-sector hydropower projects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from Rs. 0.425 per kilowatt hour to Rs. 1.10 per kilowatt hour.
The case will now be forwarded to the federal government, while the approved increase is expected to raise the annual income received by the provincial government from Rs. 1.3 billion to Rs. 3.4 billion.
Source: DAWN
