Friday, December 20, 2019

Government agencies seek over Rs 20 billion extra budget

Despite failure in spending, various ministries and government agencies have sought more than Rs 20 billion in additional budget from Finance Ministry for different projects and programmes that are not listed in the annual budget for the current fiscal year.
Though, projects and programmes are not entertained – according to the fiscal act – out of the budget, various government bodies are asking Rs 20.67 billion budget beyond the law, confirmed the Finance Ministry.
“They have sought the additional budget based on the provision that allows them to seek budget for some highly important programmes or causes,” the Finance Ministry informed, adding that the ministry has been receiving applications seeking budget for numerous new projects, which it might not be able to fund.
The National Planning Commission (NPC) tops the chart in seeking additional budget as it has sought additional Rs 4.75 billion, according to the Finance Ministry. “Defence Ministry has asked for Rs 3.57 billion in additional budget, while the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport has sought Rs 3.46 billion extra, and Ministry of Youths and Sports has sought Rs 3.16 billion additional budget.”
On one hand, the ministries and government agencies are not focusing on implementation of projects and programmes mentioned in the annual budget, and on the other they are just seeking additional budget putting the Finance Ministry under pressure. “They have not been able to accelerate budget spending by implementing programmes and projects already incorporated in the budget,” the Finance Ministry blamed, adding that the government is under pressure to manage resources.

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