PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has allocated a hefty sum of Rs450 million for its publicity campaign after getting formal approval from the provincial cabinet.
According to documents available with HUM News English, the decision was taken during a provincial cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.
In the meeting, the KP information secretary briefed the cabinet that a note had been sent to the chief minister on December 20, 2024, seeking the allocation of funds for government publicity campaigns in the fiscal year 2024–25.
Following the request, he said that the provincial government directed the KP finance department to release Rs250 million. However, the department initially disbursed only Rs50 million, stating that the remaining Rs200 million would be issued as a grant after cabinet approval.
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The information secretary further informed the cabinet that after consultations between the planning & development and finance departments, the media campaign was removed from the Annual Development Programme (ADP) and shifted to the revenue side.
A decision was then made to allocate Rs450 million for the campaign, with Rs200 million to be released immediately. This was later presented to the chief minister through a summary.
During the cabinet meeting, the information secretary formally requested the release of the Rs450 million grant, with Rs200 million to be disbursed immediately and the remaining Rs250 million to be released as needed.
Both the finance and planning & development departments agreed to shift funding for the “paid media content” scheme to the revenue side and present the total amount as a supplementary grant.
Of this, Rs200 million will be released immediately while the remaining amount will be provided as required.
According to the documents, the provincial cabinet has approved the Rs450 million grant for publicity and advertisements for the fiscal year 2024–25, with an immediate release of Rs200 million.
The remaining Rs250 million will be issued based on future needs.