Finance Minister Mir Shoaib Nosherwani asked for 45 extra grants just three days before the end of the fiscal year 2023-24. These grants cover expenses that were higher than what was planned in the budget.
When a government spends more than it planned, it asks for extra money, called supplementary grants. Since the opposition didn’t object, all 45 requests for extra spending were approved.
The biggest chunk of money, Rs13.78 billion, will go to pensions and benefits for retired government workers in Balochistan. Money was also approved for salaries of Balochistan police and Levies force, as well as Rs5.93 billion for the Provincial Disaster Management Authority.
No requests were made for money for new development projects because a lot of the budget for those projects wasn’t spent.
During earlier discussions about the budget, Maulvi Noorullah, an independent lawmaker from Qila Saifullah, said the budget was unfair. He said his constituency, with 700,000 people, didn’t get enough money for roads, sanitation, forests, environment, and education.
