PESHAWAR Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Finance, Engineer Muhammad Humayun Khan, Saturday presented Rs 294.2 billion tax-free budget for the fiscal year 2010-11, showing an increase of 40 percent than the allocations of the last provincial budget. With the allocation of Rs 69 billion for Annual Development Programme (ADP) in the provincial budget 2010-11, the expected revenue collection is Rs 294.2 billion out of which Rs 127.9 billion have been allocated for the current expenditures. The provincial budget of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the year 2010-11 was presented at a special budget session held at the Provincial Assembly with Speaker Kiramatullah in chair. Announcing to bring 20 percent reduction in his own salary, the Provincial Finance Minister said that 20 percent reduction in the salaries of the provincial ministers would be made and announced an increase of 50 percent in the salaries of government sector employees, besides a raise of 20 percent in pensions. Coming to the subject of expected revenue collection, the Provincial Finance Minister said that the province would get Rs 123.4 million in lieu of central taxes in divisible pool, Rs 9.4 billion from oil and gas royalty and Rs 6 billion as net profit from hydel power, while he expected to receive Rs 25 billion up to July 2010 that was due in lieu of the net profit in hydel profit. Rs 15.2 billion special grants were expected due to war against terrorism and Rs 7.2 billion income was expected in lieu of the provinces own revenue receipts, he added. The Provincial Finance Minister said that it was a matter of rejoice that in the coming financial year, Rs 842 million profit was expected to be yielded by the hydel project Malakand-III and Rs 12.3 billion income would come through General Sales Tax on services, while Rs 400 million would be accrued from general capital income as well as Rs 9.3 billion were expected in the shape of foreign aid for the province. During his budget speech, the Humayun Khan said that in lieu of estimated expenditures for the fiscal year 2010-11, Rs 7115.192 million have been allocated for elementary and secondary education, Rs 3019.804 million for higher education and Rs 5940.685 million for health sector. While Rs 21 billion was earmarked for police force, Rs 11 billion for payments of pensions, Rs 51.9 billion allocation to the districts for payments of salaries and other expenditures, Rs 150 million to be provided to Revenue and Estate Department for relief activities, Rs 2.5 billion allocated in lieu of wheat subsidy, Rs 9.6 billion earmarked for payments of loans, and Rs 11 billion would be kept aside for capital expenditures. The provision for food trading is Rs 85.9 billion, he added. Humayun said that education sector in the coming fiscal year would arrange for managing and extending standard education in 27,419 schools while 604 new vacancies of teachers would be created and Rs 33.1 billion have been allocated in this regard which is more than 32 percent of the previous year allocation. Rs 2.9 billion are the estimated expenditures in lieu of higher education in 147 colleges and libraries of the province while 162 new vacancies will also be created in the same sector, he added. Rs 5.9 billion has been allocated for health sector which is 48 percent more than the allocation made during the last fiscal year. 250 more vacancies of trainee medical officers will be created in the coming fiscal year, he said. He added that a dentistry unit would also be established in Khyber Teaching Hospital. He said that Rs 2.5 billion had been earmarked for subsidised wheat. Rs 2 billion allocated for M & R at the provincial and district levels out of which Rs 1.5 billion have been earmarked for provincial roads and bridges while Rs 500 million for caring of buildings, he added. Keeping in view the potential of mine sector, the Provincial Government has set up a separate department for it during the current fiscal year while in the coming financial year Rs 164 million would be spent in lieu of current expenditures. Following the footsteps of the Federal Government, the Provincial Government employees of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been given a 50 percent raise in their salaries while 15-20 percent raise has been suggested in the pension of retired government employees, he said. Likewise from grade 1-16 employees of government sector 100 percent raise has been made in their medical allowances and for the employees of grade 17 and above, there is a suggestion of extending medical allowance by 15 percent of their basic pay scales. So a total of Rs 22 billion would be incurred in the coming fiscal year on payments, pension and medical allowances. The same would not be applicable on the payments of police force, as their salaries have already been increased, added the Finance Minister. For the development of resource-less and poor peoples development, an endowment fund with Rs 2 billion would be established to help provide jobs to such people in the province. In the field of technical education, the provincial government would give opportunities to 1,000 brilliant students, both male and female, to get training in Centres of Excellence and a one-year training programme has been estimated to incur Rs 300 million.