Punjab`s budget for the next fiscal year represents an old chapter from the playbook of the PML-N, which routinely prioritises the image-building of the top party leadership over meaningful governance for the optimal social impact of the province`s annual development spending plan.

Indeed, though the second budget of the Maryam Nawaz government dots every `i` and crosses every `t` the document is devoid of an effective strategy to achieve impact outcomes commensurate with the large development stimulus it has pro-posed for the province.

The Rs53.3 trillion spending plan, including a development programme of Rs1.24tr, is a familiar combination of flashy infrastructure projects, politically convenient handouts and promises of public service delivery improvements. What it lacks is not just a strategy for the effective monitoring and implementation of development schemes but also an independent socioeconomic impact assessment or audit of past expenditures.

Flush with cash thanks to the projected federal transfers totalling Rs4.09tr the government has spiked its development stimulus forthe next fiscal year by more than 47 per cent from Rs842 billion for the outgoing year to Rs1.24tr. `The development stimulus`, said the finance minister in his budget speech, `marks a shift towards transformational planning, placing equity, innovation, and climate resilience at the heart of development` in the province.

`The annual development programme is not just a funding plan but rather a blueprint for shared prosperity, designed to meet present needs while unlocking Punjab`s full future growth potential,` he added. Unlike the previous year, when infrastructure had claimed 60pc of the development funds, the social sector has emerged as a major beneficiary this year with Rs493.5bn or 40pc of the development funds. Infrastructure development gets Rs335.5bn or 27pc share. The production sector has been allocated Rs164.2bn, or 13pc; the governance sector got Rs141.6bn, or 11pc; and others, including environment, human rights, etc, got just Rs75bn, or 6pc.

Punjab`s development-focused strategy for the next fiscal year signifies the continuation of the ruling PML-N`s spending priorities. On paper, the focus is on stimulus, public services, and growth. Beneath it is hidden a political philosophy that prizes short-term optics over longterm reforms and devolution of governance. Soon, the government will realise and begin covering its governance gap with a blitz of publicity drives around its development and welfare initiatives starting with fullpage newspaper advertisements to prime-time TV campaigns to social media boosts which the unsuspecting citizens often mistake as social impact outcomes. In reality, these are meant to project the chief minister as a reformer and a champion of development.

A budget without socioeconomic impact and governance reforms is a ledger of `transactions` done through the financial year, or merely an account of income and expenditure. Successive governments, for example, have spent billions on `model police stations` housed in flashy, luxurious buildings. But it has failed to change the `thana culture` or stop corruption and provide justice to the citizens.

Likewise, tens of billions spent on public schools have been unable to change education outcomes in the province. The state of affairs in the health sector is not much different.

This is because none of the successive chief executives of the province have ever shown interest in having their initiatives audited to assess their impact and evaluate the effectiveness of public spending.

And this is not going to change unless the focus shifts to delivering results rather than merely being seen as attempting to do so.

The government promises inclusive growth across the province, yet the budget documents show that it has stopped ring-fencing development funds for the most underdeveloped South Punjab, which houses some of the country`s poorest districts. The previous PTl administration had ring-fenced funds for the southern districts to stop their diversion for schemes elsewhere.

Predictably, the shortto long-term development focus under the PML-N is back on districts along the GT Road, which provided the party traditional support in the past. For example, Lahore alone is givenRs78bn for development projects. The lopsided focus on the central region of the province at the expense of south Punjab under the previous PML-N administrations is often blamed for rising regional disparities in the province.

Last but not least, the government has been promoting the next budget as taxfree, which amply captures the utter lack of or sluggish revenue effort to boost the provincial own-source revenues. The projected provincial own tax share of nearly Rs525bn will form just above 10pc of its total projected revenues of Rs4.9tr next year, speaking volumes about the government`s failure to ramp up efforts to boost its tax collection in Pakistan`s most populous province.

Not only that, it has also recorded a shortfall of 10pc in its tax target for the outgoing year due to a lack of effective enforcement of immovable urban property levies and GST on services. The collection under the agriculture income tax is estimated to rise to Rs10.5bn from Rs4bn this year due to the levy`s alignment with federal income tax slabs, but few have faith in the province`s ability to recover the targeted amount.

With the budget unfolding large infrastructure schemes and expenditures focusing on service delivery, social protection, relief and subsidies, Punjab may appear to be on the move. A closer look would, however, take some of the shine off the rosy picture the big numbers paint.

Who cares as long as you have the establishment on your side and money to spend on a publicity blitz to conceal shortcomings of governance?m