Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s 141.4 billion budget presented in the Legislative Assembly

By Bureau Chief

MUZAFFARABAD : The budget of Azad Jammu and Kashmir 2021-2022 was presented in the Legislative Assembly. The total volume of the budget for the new financial year was kept at Rs. 141.4 billion, Rs. 28 billion was allocated for development expenditure.

The budget of Azad Jammu and Kashmir 2021-2022 was presented by the Minister of State for Finance Dr. Najib Naqi in the Legislative Assembly. The total budget of Azad Kashmir for the new financial year has been kept at Rs. 141.4 billion. 28 billion has been earmarked for development expenditure while Rs. 113 billion has been earmarked for non-development expenditure. Compared to the previous financial year, this time the development budget has been increased by 14%. It is proposed to allocate maximum Rs. 10 billion in the development budget for the transport and communication sector.

Foreign aid projects worth Rs 2 billion have also been included in the new financial year. In the new budget, a plan of “Capital / Divisional Development Package” of Rs. 2.5 billion is being introduced. Muzaffarabad, Rawalpindi and Mirpur will be made model cities under the new package. Funds for the Prime Minister’s Community Infrastructure Program have been reduced by 50% in the budget.

The rural connectivity road project was not included in the new fiscal year’s budget. Funds have been allocated for setting up a 200-bed hospital and trauma center inside the capital Muzaffarabad.

The Finance Minister informed the House that a Tourism Development Authority was also being set up to promote tourism in Azad Kashmir. It is proposed to allocate Rs. 5 billion for the construction of Kashmir Highway along the river from Muzaffarabad to Mangla while a 22 MW Jagran Four project is also being launched to increase power generation.