KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA is set to present an annual development budget of Rs100 billion for the 201314 fiscal year. Around 30 per cent of these funds will be earmarked for new projects, while the rest will be spent on ongoing schemes.

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-led provincial government is set to come up with its own social security programmes. A scheme with an initial investment of Rs700 million will be included in the provincial budget, under which unemployed youngsters with 16 years of education (MA pass) will be given monthly stipends of Rs2,000 for one year. This scheme will also include madressah students.

The PTI has pledged to make KP a model province. Its maiden budget is likely to unveil proposals that would set the direction in which it wants the provincial economy to move.

KP is expecting a bigger share from the federal divisible pool. According to the federal budget for 2013-14, its share from the pool has been set at Rs251.5 billion, which is Rs47.5 billion more than this year`s revised estimates. But it is only Rs10 billion higher when compared with the original budget estimates.

This has allowed the PTI-led government to project the province`s total revenue estimate for the incoming financial year at over Rs320 billion, higher than the outgoing financial year`s Rs303 billion.

The current expenditure is expected to gobeyond Rs200 billion, up from the outgoing financial year`s initial budget estimates of Rs191 billion. KP is also expected to follow the federation by raising pensions by 10 per cent.

And like the other three federating units, KP,, under the 18th constitutional amendment, is expected to limit the size of the provincial cabinet to 15 ministers (including the chief minister), and a maximum of three advisers. This will reduce expenses for the provincial exchequer.

The previous KP cabinet had over 40 ministers. The incumbent chief minister will also not be using the Chief Minister House as his official residence, in fulfillment of one of PTFs election promises.

But in order to further increase revenues, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government will need to push the federal government to release its share of net hydro profit from the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) in a timely manner. KP receives Rs6 billion under this head every year. But for the last two financial years, the payments have been quite erratic.

While the outgoing financial year is about to end, the province has not received a single rupee under this head.

Another major installment of Rs25 billion may also test the new provincial government`s ability to secure the amount, due from a federal government guarantee on hydropower dues owed by Wapda to KP in the incoming fiscal.

In the meantime, the new PTI-led government is also expected to come up with a more frank and open analysis of the outgoing financial year performance of the province, asit pertains to its predecessor.

KP recorded a deficit of over Rs5 billion in the financial year 2011-12, after the then-government had claimed to have presented a balanced budget. The situation is not different in the ongoing fiscal either, except that the deficit is likely to be much higher than last year.The previous provincial government had projected total income of Rs303 billion for the financial year 2012-13. However, this is estimated to fall short of Rs20 billion, on account of reduced payments made to provinces from the federal divisible pool. The reason for the reduced payments is said to be the big shortfall in federal revenue collection.