Details of development spending for the first five months of the current fiscal year have emerged, revealing slow utilization of allocated funds.
Between July and November, only Rs91.9 billion was spent on development projects, despite approvals for the release of Rs349 billion.
According to official documents, just 9.2 percent of the total Rs1 trillion federal development budget was utilized during this period. Federal ministries and divisions spent Rs68.41 billion on their development schemes, while more than Rs19 billion was spent on projects in provinces and special areas.
Development projects under the Ministry of Water Resources accounted for expenditures exceeding Rs14.91 billion. The Higher Education Commission spent Rs8 billion on its development initiatives, while up to Rs6 billion was utilized for development projects under the Federal Ministry of Education.
Although approval was granted for the release of more than Rs43 billion for parliamentarians’ development schemes, no funds were spent under these schemes during the first five months of the fiscal year.
Additionally, over Rs5.38 billion was spent on development projects of the Ministry of Planning. The Railway Division incurred development expenditures of Rs5.17 billion, while Rs20.73 billion was spent on development projects under the National Highway Authority (NHA). Development projects of NTDC and PEPCO collectively saw expenditures of Rs2.75 billion.
The figures highlight a significant gap between approved allocations and actual spending, raising concerns over the pace of development work during the ongoing fiscal year.
