Centre’s spending on development remains miniscule

ISLAMABAD: The Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) expenditure in the first five months of the current fiscal year is struggling at 10.4pc of its Rs1.1 trillion annual allocation as the government keeps a tight lid on disbursements to meet requirements of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of meeting certain fiscal surplus.

The latest data from the Ministry of Planning and Development showed the total PSDP expenditure at Rs114.5bn in July-November.

Under the mechanism announced by the Ministry of Finance for the current fiscal year, the government should release 15pc of the budgeted allocation in the first quarter, followed by 20pc in the second quarter, 25pc in the third quarter and the remaining 40pc in the last quarter of the fiscal year. As such, the estimated release for PSDP by end-November should be at least 28pc of annual allocation or no less than Rs310bn.

All the 36 federal ministries and divisions and their agencies could spend only Rs94.4bn in five months, accounting for 11pc of their allocations at Rs843bn.

The Planning Commission, however, claimed that it had authorised Rs286.6bn for disbursement to the federal ministries in the first five months, accounting for about 34pc of the annual target (Rs843bn) and in line with the finance ministry’s instructions, but Rs94.4bn or 10pc could be spent on the ground.

Six ministries, led by housing, spent nothing on schemes in July-November

Likewise, it said the planning ministry had authorised Rs376bn against a PSDP of Rs1.1tr that was in line with the quarterly quota, but spending stood at Rs114.5bn.

The two major overall corporate entities — National Highway Authority (NHA) and National Transmission & Despatch Company (NTDC) — spent a meagre amount of Rs20bn in the first five months or about 5.6pc against their joint allocation of Rs255bn. Even individually, the NHA utilised about Rs19bn against its annual share of Rs161bn.

On the other hand, the power sector utilised a miniscule amount of Rs1.08bn in five months or around 1.1pc of Rs95.5bn annual allocation. Likewise, despite the country being at risk of climate disasters, the Climate Change Division spent only Rs93bn in five months or less than 1.8pc of its Rs5.256bn allocation. Another critical ministry in the social sector — National Food Security — could utilise less than 1.5pc (Rs358 million) against its sizable allocation of Rs23.9bn.

The official data also showed that the Railways Division was the only federal ministry which could unusually cross the general utilisation threshold with spending of Rs12.23bn, almost 35pc of Rs35bn allocation.

Conversely, the Planning Commission, the custodian of the development programme, could make an expenditure of just Rs743m, less than 1.5pc of a hefty allocation of Rs51.4bn it had amassed at the time of budget approval. This raises questions about the capability of the planning ministry to keep a watch on the utilisation of development funds across the country.

The Ministry of Housing and Works was the most incapable, with zero development expenditure in the first five months against an allocation of Rs24bn. Five other ministries, Narcotics Control, Commerce, Communications, Religious Affairs, and Strategic Plans Division, could not spend a single penny on their development schemes, having no more than Rs2.5bn allocation for the year.

This alarming spending pattern directly affects the living standards of the people and economic growth.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2024