Development spending drops 38pc in July-Nov

Pakistan’s overall development spending dropped 38 per cent to Rs130.64 billion in the first five months (July-November) of the current fiscal year from Rs209.53bn a year ago to create a cushion for rising current expenditures. According to data released by the Ministry of Planning and Development on Wednesday, the massive drop would not only slow down the economy but would take a toll on revenue collection as well. In absolute terms, the expenditures so far account for 17.96pc of the total revised allocation of Rs727bn, drastically short of the development spending target. Under the disbursement mechanism announced by the Planning Division, the development funds allocated in the federal budget are released at the rate of 20pc in the first quarter (July-September), followed by 30pc each in the second (October–December) and third quarter (January-March) and remaining 20pc in last quarter (April-June) of a fiscal year.