BUDGET 2026-27: Record Rs3.6tr overspending belies govt’s austerity claims

ISLAMABAD: Despite the government’s claims of austerity and tight fiscal discipline, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has actually asked the parliament to give post-facto approval for a record Rs3.684 trillion supplementary grants for expenditure overruns and re-appropriation. Budget documents suggest that parliament would be required to approve more than four times higher supplementary grants later this month when compared to Rs895bn it regularised last year. This put a question mark on the processes leading to budget estimates and expenditures. Documents placed before parliament by the finance ministry indicate that debt servicing, subsidies, power sector, water division, defence services, health related expenditures, civil armed forces and related agencies stand out in exceeding budgetary allocations. The ministry said the amounts that it was seeking approval as a fait accompli pertained to May 17 to June 30 of 2024-25 and from July 1 to May 15 for 2025-26 after the conclusion of budgetary processes for respective years and over-ran allocations approved by the parliament and yet remain legally unapproved as required under articles 80-84 of the Constitution. The ministry in its written statement said these expenditures were those which could neither be met from the allocated budgetary resources nor be legitimately postponed during these financial years. These include both supplementary and technical supplementary grants. The technical supplementary grant means surrender of funds from one expenditure head and its authorisation for use in another account or organisation but generally without any major fiscal burden. The regular supplementary grants are confirmation of expenditure overrun or spending without a legal sanction and has a direct additional bearing on the public kitty. Finance minister asks parliament to clear supplementary grants that dwarf last year’s Rs895bn According to summary of supplementary grants and appropriations, over Rs3.2tr has come up fo