Half-yearly uplift spending rises to 55pc of allocation.

Byline: Khaleeq Kiani

ISLAMABAD -- The government has increased development spending to about 55 per cent of its budgetary allocations, significantly higher than last year's 35pc during the corresponding period.

The data released by the Planning Commission shows that it has approved Rs384 billion disbursements for development projects as of January 17 against a budgetary allocation of Rs701bn, accounting for 55pc.

Exactly during the same period last year, the Planning Commission had approved release of Rs233bn for development schemes against a budgetary allocation of Rs675bn, accounting for 35pc.

As part of the accelerated disbursements, the government has so far released Rs18.6bn for the development schemes of its parliamentarians under the account of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) against an allocation of Rs24bn for the full year, showing a 78pc spending in just six months.

83pc of allocations for security enhancement spent in six months; only 15pc of allocations for TDPs released

Of late, the PTI government has been under criticism from its own parliamentarians for poor performance in terms of development schemes in their constituencies and the resultant embarrassment they claimed to be facing from their voters.

Of the total disbursement of Rs18.6bn for the SDGs schemes, about Rs6.6bn has been released over the last couple of weeks.

Also, the government has disbursed a major part of about Rs26.8bn in first half of the year against total allocations of Rs32.5bn for security enhancement, showing 83pc spending.

In sharp contrast, only Rs5bn have so far been spent on special federal government programme for temporarily displaced persons (TDPs), accounting for just 15.4pc of the Rs32.5bn allocation. Likewise, only Rs1.5bn has been spent on the Prime Minister's Youth and Hunarmand Programme against an allocation of Rs10bn, about 15pc. Similarly, only Rs4.4bn or 18pc funds have been spent for the development of newly merged tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa against a total allocation of Rs24bn.

On top of that, about Rs8bn has so far been spent on the 10-year development plan for the merged areas against a budgetary allocation of Rs48bn, only 17pc.

More significantly, no funds have so far been authorised for disbursement against Rs2bn allocation for the Clean Green Pakistan Movement - a priority project of PM Imran Khan.

On the other hand, the Planning Commission has approved release of about Rs111bn to National Highway Authority that...