Punjab Finance Minister Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman on Tuesday presented the provincial budget for financial year 2026-27 with a total outlay of Rs. 5.9 trillion, a 10.7% increase over the outgoing year.
As per routine, opposition lawmakers staged a protest throughout the proceedings, marring the budget presentation.
In his speech, Rehman maintained the budget emphasizes fiscal discipline, relief for government employees and pensioners, and strengthened grassroots service delivery. He claimed the document was a balanced budget that had trimmed unnecessary spending while protecting public welfare.
According to Rehman, the Punjab government has slashed current expenditures by 3.1% to Rs. 1,962.93 billion through austerity measures, reflecting the government’s commitment to efficient resource use.
He said the Punjab government was raising salaries of government employees by 7% in line with the federal budget presented last year. The salary bill has now reached Rs. 638.93 billion. Similarly, pensions have been raised by 3.5%, taking their expenditure to Rs. 500.12 billion.
The Punjab finance minister said the province expects to receive Rs. 4,390.94 billion from the federal government under the NFC Award this year, adding the own revenue target has been set at Rs. 1,209.86 billion. Of this, the Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) would generate Rs. 528.50 billion (55.4% increase); Board of Revenue Rs. 86.19 billion; Excise & Taxation Rs. 124 billion (77% increase); and non-tax revenues of Rs. 461.17 billion (52% higher).
Rehman claimed the Punjab government expected to achieve 99% of its revenue target in the outgoing year with collections of Rs. 820.16 billion. He maintained this was achieved without imposing new burdens while broadening the tax base and improving administration. This, he emphasized, is the highest own-source revenue in Punjab’s history.
The government has also factored in foreign-funded loans and an Estimated Provincial Surplus of Rs. 910 billion to maintain fiscal discipline in line with federal and IMF frameworks.
During his presentation, Rehman said the government had proposed a three-year development plan worth Rs. 1,995 billion, aimed at strengthening economic growth, boosting exports and creating large-scale employment opportunities across multiple sectors. The plan anticipates to generate an additional $6.8 billion in exports and create millions of jobs through broad-based investment and sectoral development initiatives across the province.
The development schemes are divided between Rs. 1,188 billion for industry; Rs. 586 billion for agriculture; Rs. 230 billion for livestock; and Rs. 642 billion for tourism. Another Rs. 190 billion has been earmarked for aqua farming.
The budget also allocates Rs. 186 billion for skills development and Rs. 64 billion for technology, reflecting the government’s focus on diversified and modernized economic growth.
For social sectors, the budget allocates more than 10% of total spending to health to ensure improved and free healthcare services across the province. Similarly, it has proposed Rs. 750 billion for FY27, comprising Rs. 63.3 billion for development expenditure and Rs. 686.8 billion for non-development spending, accounting for over 15% of the total budget.
The Punjab government has allocated Rs. 507 billion for development and non-development expenditures for the water, sanitation, urban and local development sectors. Of this, Rs. 187.1 billion is for development projects aimed at improving infrastructure and expanding essential public services across urban and rural areas of the province.
Under the Saaf Pani Program, supporting the provision of safe drinking water and sanitation facilities, projects worth Rs. 45 billion are being implemented in 18 districts across the province. The government aims to install more than 5,600 water filtration plants throughout the province. Additionally, the government is digitally geo-tagging all filtration plants to enhance monitoring and transparency and has established a dedicated public helpline, 1336, to address complaints and ensure efficient service delivery.
For rural development, the provincial government—under the Model Village Program—would transform 48 villages in 10 divisions into model villages equipped with modern civic amenities and improved infrastructure. This has been allocated Rs. 59 billion.
Notable allocations
To provide public services at the grassroots level, the government has allocated Rs. 803.88 billion for local governments under the Provincial Finance Commission (PFC) Award, an increase of 5.2%.
The government also aims to establish an Autism School in Lahore for Rs. 670 million with an ultimate goal to establish similar schools in every division of Punjab at an estimated cost of Rs. 4.5 billion. To support this initiative, an allocation of Rs1.9 billion has been proposed.
Another project is being launched in the upcoming fiscal year for the establishment of 244 information technology laboratories in colleges at a cost of Rs. 6.9 billion. This initiative is expected to benefit more than 447,000 students.
Rs. 40 billion has been proposed for the Maryam Nawaz Sharif Center of Academic Leadership, Nawaz Sharif Centers of Excellence, and STEAM Laboratories Programs. The implementation of these initiatives will provide quality education opportunities to millions of children across the province.
‘People-friendly’ budget
Ahead of the budget’s presentation, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz lauded the team involved with preparing the budget, claiming the government had made every possible effort to provide maximum relief to the people and minimize the financial burden on them despite economic challenges and prevailing global conditions.
She noted the province had allocated a substantial amount of its share to the federation, but maintained the government remained committed to safeguarding public interests.
According to the chief minister, the budget does not impose any new taxes and aims to ensure public welfare, development and prosperity. Describing it as a “budget of hope,” she said it aimed to deliver relief to citizens through the province’s own resources.
During her address, Nawaz directed the Punjab Revenue Authority to take effective measures to enhance revenue generation and strengthen the province’s financial capacity. She appreciated the collective efforts of the cabinet members and officials, saying the entire team had worked as one unit to prepare a people-friendly budget.
Expressing confidence in the government’s performance, she said she hoped the budget would meet the aspirations of the people as in previous years. She also prayed for the ability to continue serving the people of Punjab with sincerity and dedication.
‘Anti-people’ budget
Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Moeen Riaz Qureshi rejected the provincial budget, alleging it failed to address the real issues faced by the public and key economic sectors.
He alleged in a press conference after the budget presentation it was “anti-people” and “anti-farmers.” He argued it did not reflect the needs or priorities of ordinary citizens and rural communities across the province. He also criticized the chief minister for leaving the assembly session midway through the budget proceedings.
He said political stability must be restored in the country as a first step, saying that without stability, the wheel of the economy would not move forward effectively.