ISLAMABAD: The federal budget for the next fiscal year has been delayed due to a dispute over the distribution of resources from the distributable revenue pool by the federation.
Sources say that there is a difference between the federation and the provinces regarding the distribution of resources from the distributable revenue pool. The federation is seeking additional resources from the distributable revenue pool, while the provinces are not ready to reduce their share.
According to sources, the federation has sought additional resources of about Rs 1,200 billion from the provinces, but the provinces are not ready to reduce their share, due to which further negotiations are expected on the issue.
Sources say that the federation is of the view that the additional resources will be spent on defense, national security and relief sectors.
Progress has been made on this issue in the meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and the Prime Minister, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has also held talks with the federal negotiating team.
Ministry of Finance Sources say that it is expected that the issues will be resolved by consensus soon and after agreement on the distribution of resources, a proposal to present the federal budget on June 12 is under consideration.
Sources say that various working groups have also been established for the new NFC award, whose meetings have also been held, but no agreement has been reached on the new NFC award yet and legislation or the consent of the provinces is necessary for changes in the NFC, for which efforts are being made to come up with a new formula for the distribution of new resources between the federation and the provinces.
Sources say that in the next fiscal year, the federal government wants to give a total of Rs 8200 billion to the provinces, while under the current formula, the share of the provinces is Rs 9400 billion.
According to sources, the federation has demanded an additional share of Rs650 billion from Punjab, Rs300 billion from Sindh, Rs180 billion from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Rs110 billion from Balochistan. It has also been agreed to increase the development budget for Sindh from Rs50 billion to Rs62 billion.