QUETTA: Provincial Finance Minister Mir Zahoor Ahmed Buledi has said that government departments utilised 97 per cent of Rs75 billion released under the Public Sector Development Programme for 2020-21 on various projects in Balochistan.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, the minister refuted the opposition parties’ claim that development funds lapsed as the departments failed to utilise them. He, however, said that Rs1.8bn could not be utilised due to some reasons, including the opposition’s petitions pending in the apex court.

Mr Buledi said that the size of next financial year’s budget was Rs584bn, including Rs237bn PSDP and Rs340bn allocated for non-development expenditure. He said Rs16bn foreign assistance and Rs48bn federal government funds were also included in the PSDP.

He said the opposition wanted to create confusion by spreading rumours that the budget had not been spent. “With the financial management, our throw forward has been reduced from Rs288bn to Rs200bn. In the past, the province used to take overdraft,” he added.

Buledi hopes 859 projects will be completed in Balochistan next year

The finance minister said as many as 859 development schemes would be completed in the 2021-22 financial year against 1,647 schemes in the outgoing financial year.

He said the government would spend Rs1.4bn for mines and minerals, Rs900m in the mineral sector, Rs3bn for fisheries, Rs18bn for education, Rs620m for women’s development, Rs5bn for sports, while road and dam projects across the province were also part of the budget.

Mr Buledi said low-cost housing schemes, youth employment programmes, disaster management colonies in every district, cold stores and other important projects were also part of the budget.

In reply to a question, the minister said the names of opposition members had been removed from the FIR about June 18 incident, so now there was no justification for their protest.

“On June 18, the entire nation witnessed the parties which claimed to be champions of democracy violating democratic traditions. They had locked the gates of the Balochistan Assembly,” he said, adding that the opposition must apologise for its action.

He said if the opposition called a meeting of the assembly the government would definitely participate in it and respond to their objections.

He was unaware of a ban on the entry of journalists in Bijli Road police station. Police may have taken this step as a precaution, he said.

The finance minister said there were reservations and resentments in the coalition parties. “Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind is our ally and a respected person. It is his personal decision to resign. The chief minister has asked him to withdraw his resignation,” he said.

He said it was the responsibility of the government under Article 120 of the Constitution to prepare, present and approve the budget. Allegations of rewarding unelected persons in the budget were baseless, he added.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2021