GILGIT: Gilgit-Baltistan Finance Minister Muhammad Ismael on Monday presented a budget of over Rs148 billion for the fiscal year (FY) 2025-26, in a session chaired by G-B Assembly Speaker Nazir Ahmed.
The budget session was initially scheduled for 4pm; however, it began with a delay of more than two hours. As a result, opposition leaders decided to walk out in protest, expressing dissatisfaction with the delay.
Ismael said that the federal grant has been increased from Rs68 billion to Rs80 billion. He added that the budget includes Rs88.19 billion allocated for non-development expenditures, while the annual development budget has increased from Rs20 billion to Rs22 billion.
The Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) has been raised from Rs9.5 billion to Rs11 billion, and federal PSDP under the prime minister’s initiative is proposed at Rs4 billion.
Ismael highlighted that the budget deficit has decreased from Rs13 billion to Rs3.75 billion. He stated that the local revenue collection target has been set at over Rs7.89 billion.
Additionally, the budget includes Rs20 billion for wheat procurement, with Rs3.44 billion expected from the sale of subsidized wheat.
In the education sector, Ismael said that Rs1.47 billion has been allocated. He mentioned that Rs1.25 billion has been designated for health, which includes Rs620 million for the Health Endowment Fund.
The minister pointed out that Rs350 million has been allocated for the agriculture, livestock, and fisheries sectors, and Rs90 million has been set aside for the tourism sector. Furthermore, Rs100 million has been allocated for the information technology sector.
Ismael shared that Rs28.29 billion has been allocated for administrative expenses and public service delivery, which will cover sectors such as health, education, security, infrastructure, and more. He mentioned that Rs800 million has been proposed for election-related expenses, which will cover electoral materials, security, staff, and other arrangements.
Ismael said that Rs170 million is proposed under the prime minister’s and chief minister’s package to provide cash payments to the families of government employees who have passed away during service. Rs350 million is also set aside for Leave Encashment, benefiting eligible employees.
Fast-Track Power Projects
The minister said hydropower projects, spread across nine districts except Kharmang, were in the final stages of completion. These projects have a total generation capacity of 27.8 megawatts and require Rs5.2 billion to be completed by June 2026.
Additional power projects are progressing at a rapid pace, expected to generate an additional 10 megawatts of electricity. To maintain construction speed and complete them by 2027, Rs1.6 billion is required.
For rural development, he noted that Rs600 million has been allocated to improve access to infrastructure, livelihoods, and basic services in remote areas.
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Ismael further stated that Rs130 million has been allocated for disaster response in case of natural calamities. He said that Rs100 million will go towards the Phayalong Water Diversion project to address water scarcity in Skardu by redirecting water flow.
Additionally, Rs 80 million has been allocated for the digitisation of immunization programmes, and Rs450 million will be allocated under the Benevolent Fund and Group Insurance Fund for the welfare of employees.
Measures For Government Employees
Ismael said that, following the federal model, a salary increase for all government employees has been proposed [10 per cent]. He also mentioned that a committee will be formed to review the eligibility of employees for DRA, which will present its recommendations to the government within a month. Based on these recommendations, discrepancies in salaries between different departments will be reduced.
The minister proposed that the Special Conveyance Allowance for specially-abled employees be increased to Rs6,000. He said that the Rescue 1122 Gilgit-Baltistan staff’s special allowance would be increased from the 2008 basic salary to 100 per cent of the 2017 initial basic salary.
Ismael further suggested allocating Rs69 million for Self-Hiring for employees in the Governor Secretariat, Chief Minister Secretariat, and Civil Secretariat for employees in grades 1 to 16 and Ex-Cadre officers.
The minister also proposed extending the Elite Allowance for newly trained recruits in the Elite Force and increasing the Police Ration Allowance from Rs1,500 to Rs2,000.
For the Chief Minister’s Inspection Team, it was proposed to grant 75 per cent Secretariat Allowance on the 2022 initial basic salary for employees in grades 1 to 16.
For the Prisons Department, Ismael proposed that the Prisons Allowance for employees in grades 17 and 18 be increased from 2009 basic salary to 150 per cent of the 2017 initial basic salary.
Lastly, for employees of the G-B Assembly, Ismael proposed that employees in grades 1 to 16 receive a 75 per cent Secretariat Allowance based on the 2022 initial basic salary, while employees in grades 17 and above would receive a 150 per cent Incentive Allowance based on the 2022 salary.
Aggrieved Rescue 1122 employees protest
Rescue 1122 personnel in all districts of Gilgit-Baltistan staged a protest on Monday by locking their offices against the non-provision of allowances. The employees in Gilgit staged a sit-in outside the Assembly during the budget session.
They said that they had been protesting for the past month over their legitimate demands, including risk allowance, CRA, insurance, and a fixed daily allowance.
They had postponed their protest after being informed that the risk allowance would be approved by the chief minister and the cabinet. However, when the budget was presented, there was no mention of the risk allowance for Rescue 1122 staff, leading to the protests and the office lockout.