90% Budget Spent, But Quetta Still in Ruins
The Balochistan government is going to present a new budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2025-26 on Tuesday, which is estimated to be more than one trillion rupees.
The government has declared education, health, and law and order as its top priorities. However, conflicting opinions are emerging on the use of the budget for the current fiscal year.
According to the spokesperson for the Balochistan government, Shahid Rind, the government has spent 90 percent of the budget of Rs 200 billion of the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) for the current fiscal year.
He says that this is the first time in the history of Balochistan that such a large portion of the development budget has been used. The remaining 10 percent will also be released before the end of the fiscal year so that the projects can be completed.
Shahid Rind claims that the government has paid full attention to important sectors such as education, health, agriculture, fisheries, public health engineering and energy and has ensured effective use of funds.
However, senior journalist and analyst Syed Ali Shah says that the real question is, what benefit has the budget been given to the common man? Quetta is still a scene of ruins, and remote areas are forced to live in the Stone Age.
He also raised questions on transparency and said that despite spending 90 percent of the budget, there has been no revolutionary change in public services.
Economic experts have also expressed concerns, saying that the government’s claims are only on paper, as no mega projects have been started, roads have not been improved, and facilities have not been provided in hospitals.
The security situation has also deteriorated, paralyzing commercial activities.
