"The budget for 2024-25 has seen an overshoot in allocations for power, defence, and election expenses."

The budget for 2024-25 has seen an overshoot in allocations for power, defence, and election expenses.

ISLAMABAD: According to information on current spending given by the Finance Division for the previous fiscal year, at least 38 government departments received more money through supplemental and technical grants than what was allotted to them during the fiscal year 2023–2024.

Apart from debt servicing (both local and foreign), the Power Division was the largest spender, utilizing Rs769.7 billion compared to an allocation of approximately Rs450.5 billion. Consequently, it required an additional amount of around Rs319.1 billion to cover its expenses during FY2023-24. Similarly, the defense sector faced a similar situation. While the government had allocated Rs1.8 trillion under the Defense Services head, the actual expenditure reached Rs1.835 trillion, showing an increase of Rs31.5 billion due to overspending in various areas such as "operating expenses," "physical assets," and "civil works." Moreover, the Defense Division needed an additional Rs20 billion under the 'transfers' category, exceeding its allocated budget of Rs6 billion. Elections also incurred significant expenses, especially in FY24 being an election year. Despite an allocation of Rs7.7 billion, the total expenditure under this category exceeded Rs39 billion, mainly due to the general elections on Feb 8 and subsequent by-polls. A total of 38 government departments overspent by Rs454.1 billion, while three dozen divisions collectively reported savings of Rs446 billion. On the other hand, the Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives required an additional Rs13.9 billion beyond its yearly allocation of for the outgoing financial year, mainly due to increased spending on "grants, subsidies, and write-off loans."

The IT and Telecom Division also had significant expenses, needing Rs10 billion more to cover costs, primarily attributed to the "grants, subsidies, and write-off loans" category, compared to the allocated Rs9 billion. Overall, government departments overspent by approximately Rs454.1 billion, falling just short of the total savings of Rs446 billion reported by three dozen departments and divisions. This indicates that the government exceeded its expenses by around Rs8 billion, as some departments did not fully utilize their allotted funds for various reasons.