| Islamabad: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet, in its latest meeting, has granted approval for technical supplementary grants (TSGs) totalling over PKR 21 billion, a news source reported on June 27.
Read: ECC approves PKR 9.5bn guarantee for Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway
As per the details, these grants include PKR 6 billion for the conduct of the 7th Population and Housing Census and PKR 4 billion for markup payments on the debt of the Pakistan International Airlines Corporation (PIAC).
During the ECC meeting, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar presided over the deliberations. The Ministry of Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives received approval for a PKR 6 billion TSG to meet the financial requirements of the census. The Finance Division had already released PKR 22 billion out of the requested PKR 34 billion during the fiscal years 2021-22 and 2023-24. The ECC’s approval is sought for an additional PKR 6 billion to cover the outgoing fiscal year.
Regarding the markup on PIA’s debt, the Ministry of Aviation presented a summary stating that the government had committed to covering the markup for five years, from July 2018 to June 2023. Payments had been made until November 2022, but an additional amount of PKR 22.94 billion was pending.
Furthermore, the ECC approved various TSGs, including PKR 63.60 million for the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, PKR 222.037 million for the Ministry of Aviation (employee-related expenses), PKR 69.5 million for the Ministry of Housing and Works (Islamabad High Court building and Judges’ residence), and PKR 60 million for the President’s Secretariat (employee-related expenses).
Additional TSGs were approved for the Ministry of Climate Change, Frontier Corps KP (North and South), Ministry of Interior, National Security Division, Ministry of National Health Services and Coordination, and the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC).
Read: ECC approves funds for Dalbandin-Ziarat Balanosh road
The ECC’s approval of over PKR 21 billion in TSGs demonstrates the government’s commitment to addressing financial obligations and meeting various sectoral requirements. |
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