ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has utilised only 63 percent of its revised federal development budget during the current fiscal year, according to official documents detailing spending under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
According to Samaa TV report, the documents showed that out of a revised allocation of approximately Rs837 billion for federal development projects, nearly Rs530 billion has been spent during the first 11 months of the fiscal year (July–May), indicating slower-than-expected execution of development funds.
Initially, the federal PSDP was set at around Rs1 trillion, but was later reduced as part of fiscal adjustments. Despite the revised target, spending remains below planned levels, with only 53 percent utilisation achieved against the original allocation.
According to the data, members of Parliament utilised Rs44 billion out of Rs63 billion allocated for development schemes under their oversight, while ministries and divisions collectively spent Rs390 billion out of Rs577 billion released during the period.
The report further highlights significant variation across sectors. Water-related projects saw expenditure of Rs70 billion against an allocation of Rs106.64 billion, while the Defence Division utilised Rs4.7 billion out of Rs9 billion.
In the education sector, federal development programmes recorded spending of Rs20.9 billion from a total allocation of Rs26.6 billion. The Higher Education Commission utilised approximately Rs28 billion out of Rs35 billion allocated for development initiatives.
Housing and Works were amongst the sectors with lower spending at Rs2.77 billion out of Rs13.44 billion. Similarly, the Ministry of Interior used Rs6.31 billion out of its allocation of Rs11.51 billion.
Performance was varied across other sectors, including Rs1 billion spending by the Ministry of National Food Security from Rs2.61 billion and Rs3.89 billion from the Rs11.63 billion allocated for health development projects. However, the Railways Division stood out as having more utilization with the spending of Rs15.68 billion out of Rs18.55 billion allocation.
According to the documents released, provinces and special areas had used Rs154 billion from Rs199 billion, implying that the absorption levels in this sector were better than those in some federal ministries.
To date, no official statement has been released regarding the under-utilization in government expenditure. Typically, experts attribute the gaps to delays in approvals, procurement issues, and inefficiency in implementation of projects.
