KARACHI: The Sindh government on Tuesday unveiled Rs459.6 billion Annual Development Programme (ADP) for the fiscal year 2022-23 (FY23), an increase of 40 per cent or Rs130.6bn from the ongoing year’s Rs329bn.

The ADP for FY23 included Rs91.46bn of Foreign Project Assistance (FPA), Rs30bn of District ADP and Rs6bn of other federal grants.According to the budget document, the provincial ADP (excluding FPA) is Rs332.16bn. Some important FPA allocations include Rs25.6bn for transport, Rs18.8bn for irrigation, Rs16bn for local government and Rs9.3bn for education.

The allocation for FY23 is higher by Rs190bn than the revised ADP of Rs269.6bn for the ongoing year.

The next year’s ADP will include schemes to provide basic facilities to the marginalised segments of society. The government said that more resources are being allocated for water and sanitation, road network, transport, health and education sectors to provide maximum relief to the common people in next year’s ADP.

There are 2,506 ongoing schemes with a total allocation of Rs253.146bn being 75 per cent of the total ADP. There are 1,652 new schemes with a total budget of Rs79.02bn, accounting for 25pc of the total ADP.

Plans to offer 3,653 new jobs, mainly in health and education sectors

Ongoing projects involving more than 70pc of total expenditure have been fully funded for completion by June 2023.More than 1,510 schemes have been fully funded and are expected to be completed in FY23.

The budget shows that the allocation for Karachi-based schemes is Rs118bn, Rs72bn under ADP, Rs5bn under District ADP and Rs41bn through FPA.

The allocation for education sector schemes is Rs34.22bn (10.2pc of the total size), while the allocation for health sector schemes is Rs23.33bn (6.5pc of the total size).

The government’s allocation for the water and sanitation sector is Rs59.36bn (18pc of the total size), while the allocation for the agriculture and livestock sector is Rs10.2bn.

The allocation for irrigation, including lining of canals, is Rs32.5bn, accounting for 12pc of the total size. According to the document, the allocation for transport and communication (roads under works & services and local government) is Rs100.64bn or 30pc of the total size.

In view of the above non-development and development expenditure priorities, the major milestones of the provincial government were noted for providing infrastructure to educational institutions in order to increase enrollment; improving and upgrading health facilities and managing existing health institutions; providing nutrition support, community infrastructure funds, income-generating grants, microassets, and low-cost housing in order to reduce poverty among the poorest of the poor; increasing agricultural productivity and value chain, and conserving water for agricultural, industrial and municipal consumption.

Also, the aim is to provide clean drinking water and safe disposal of waste; improve connectivity between major cities and towns in the province; increase road connectivity; and plan mass transit for Karachi.

For the next financial year, the government has planned to create around 3,653 news posts. The majority of these openings will be in the education and health departments.

Published in Dawn,June 15th, 2022