• Eases fan replacement programme criteria to widen consumer eligibility
• Parliamentarians get fresh allocations
ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on Thursday approved more than Rs225 billion in supplementary grants, including for parliamentarians’ schemes and power sector subsidy through government’s equity injection.
The meeting of the committee presided over by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb also eased eligibility criteria for prime minister’s fan replacement programme, approved compensation for missing persons’ families and noted easing of inflationary pressure that had stemmed from post-flood supply impact.
The ECC approved a total of Rs12bn for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Achievement Programme schemes — codenamed for parliamentarians’ constituency schemes — under three different heads. The government had allocated Rs70bn in the current year budget for parliamentarians’ schemes and about Rs25bn has already been authorised for disbursement in first four months. The fresh approvals take the total authorisations to Rs37bn, more than half the total allocation, the luckiest area in the development budget.
An official statement said the supplementary grant of Rs6.358bn was approved to Power Division for execution of SDGs schemes in Punjab, Islamabad Capital Territory, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The ECC also approved another supplementary grant of Rs40 million of SDGs under the defence sector, an official statement said.
The meeting also approved Rs5.2bn supplementary grant to Ministry of Housing and Works for Pakistan Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (PIDCL) — a replacement for Pakistan Works Department (PWD) — for execution of development schemes in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The meeting also approved disbursement of a supplementary grant of Rs200bn for timely payments critical for power sector’s liquidity out of Rs400bn budgeted funds for lump sum payment of subsidies, other than tariff differential subsidies. This will be treated as government of Pakistan equity investment in Distribution Companies (Discos) to address cash flow constraints in the power sector. The government has allocated about Rs1.036 trillion for power sector subsidies which include about Rs495bn for tariff differential subsidies to Discos and K-Electric, Rs400bn lump sum subsidy payments as liquidity induction, Rs50bn for guaranteed payments to Chinese power producers and Rs95bn for other producers.
The ECC also approved, on the proposal of the Power Division, a revision and readjustment of the eligibility criteria for funding under the Prime Minister’s Fan Replacement Programme to ensure efficient implementation of the scheme and to further promote energy efficiency and reduction in electricity consumption. Earlier, the eligible consumers should not have delayed more than two monthly bills in 24 months which has now been increased to four months out of 24 months.
The committee approved additional funds amounting to Rs5.76bn proposed by the Federal Education and Professional Training Division for establishment of Danish Schools in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Balochistan, as well as for implementation of the Prime Minister’s Youth Skill Development Programme through NAVTTC. However, the committee advised the division to explore public-private partnership models to enhance sustainability, noting that continued reliance on regular government funding may be challenging in the future.
On the request of Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination, the ECC approved an amount of Rs170m for the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation’s budget for FY26. The ministry was directed to prepare a comprehensive business plan clearly outlining PTDC’s proposed role, governance framework, staffing requirements and alignment with the national tourism strategy, particularly in view of ongoing consultancy studies and international investment initiatives.
The ECC also approved payment of Rs4.775bn to 945 deserving families of missing persons, as identified by the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances to address “humanitarian concerns”, the ministry of finance said. The disbursement will be made under the supervision of the Commission.
The Committee approved Rs79m for annual maintenance of helicopters of Frontier Corps Balochistan (North), Quetta, and another Technical Supplementary Grant of Rs10.821m for repair and maintenance of helicopters of Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) during 2025-26.
A Rs2.5bn grant was also approved construction of 104 additional family suites for parliamentarians including their servant quarters. The construction would cost a total of Rs7.1bn. Another Rs250m was allowed to the Ministry of Defence for operationalisation of King Hamad University of Nursing and Allied Medical Sciences during the current financial year.
The meeting reviewed inflationary trends and noted that “overall inflation situation had shown marked improvement during the ongoing fiscal year, reflecting enhanced price stability and effective macroeconomic management”. It said the inflation had taken off well in July and August at 4.1 and 3pc, respectively, but temporary pressures emerged during September and October due to flood-related supply disruptions and had since moderated. It said the cumulative inflation in first five months averaged 5pc compared to 7.9pc of same period last fiscal year.
