KARACHI: With a focus on the rehabilitation of flood-affected people, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Saturday presented a budget of Rs2.2 trillion for the fiscal year 2023-24.
The budget has a development outlay of Rs700.1 billion that centres around flood affectees and social protection for the poor. The chief minister, during the budget speech, said that the province faced an additional burden this year due to natural disasters and floods.
Speaking about the disastrous flood that submerged one-third of the country last year, CM Murad said Rs87 billion were given for flood rehabilitation under the provincial Annual Development Programme.
“The Sindh government held a conference on the rehabilitation of flood victims in Karachi after the Geneva conference during which the investors were encouraged to invest in the restoration of infrastructure,” he added.
Shedding light on the damage caused by the floods in the province, CM Murad said about 4.4 million acres of agricultural land has been destroyed while 60% of the road network was severely affected.
Sharing the details of the budget, the CM said the total receipts of the provincial government would be around Rs2.21 trillion, representing an increase of 31.56% from the concluding financial year 2022-2023 against expenditures of Rs2.2 trillion which shows a deficit of Rs37.795 billion.
