- SDGs fund for treasury lawmakers sees 71% spending, hits Rs35bn.
- Revised PSDP shrinks to Rs1.096tr amid sluggish utilisation.
- Govt plans Rs1tr PSDP allocation against demand of Rs3tr.
ISLAMABAD: Out of the downward-revised development budget of Rs1.096 trillion, the federal government has spent just 54% — around Rs0.593 trillion — over the first 11 months of the outgoing fiscal year.
Meanwhile, the SDGs Achievement Programme — a contentious initiative reserved for treasury lawmakers — used up 71% of its revised Rs48 billion allocation, amounting to Rs35 billion by fiscal year-end.
According to official data available with The News, the pace of utilisation of development funds was just 54% in the first 11 months but with only one month left, it is yet to be seen how much funding is going to be utilised in the outgoing fiscal year ending on June 30, 2025.
Now the government is all set to allocate Rs1 trillion for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) in the next budget for 2025-26. The Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APCC) is all set to consider the next PSDP on Monday (today). The development spending of Rs1.4 trillion had been allocated for PSDP along with Public Private Partnership but it was revised downward twice to Rs1.25 trillion and then reduced to Rs1.096 trillion.
In the first 11 months (July to May) 2025-26 period, the government sanctioned Rs0.64 trillion, out of which the rupee component spending on the development budget stood at Rs0.47 trillion in the first 11 months. The foreign exchange component was envisaged at Rs226 billion for the whole fiscal year, out of which the utilisation stood at Rs0.123 trillion in the first 11 months of CFY.
The sources said that the release of funds remained slow in the first half of the CFY, due to which the development schemes could not get momentum.
The government is now going to allocate PSDP funding of Rs1 trillion against the ministries’ demand of Rs3 trillion. The Planning Ministry argued to increase the PSDP up to Rs1.6 trillion for completion of certain ongoing schemes, but finally the allocation was proposed at Rs1 trillion.
Initially, the Finance Ministry had given an indicative budget ceiling of Rs0.921 trillion but later on it was increased up to Rs1 trillion for the next budget.
