Punjab Budget: Govt. Employees salary increased by 10%

Finance Minister Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman presented a Rs. 5.335 trillion Punjab budget for the fiscal year 2025–26 in the provincial assembly, during which the opposition strongly protested.

Punjab budget proposals include a 10% increase in the salaries of government employees and a 5% increase in pensions for retired government employees. It also proposes raising the minimum monthly wage from Rs. 37,000 to Rs. 40,000.

According to Daily Jang, the opposition continued protesting in front of the speaker’s dais during the finance minister’s budget speech. However, Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman continued his speech despite the noise.

During his address, the Punjab finance minister said that when the government took office, the system was paralyzed, but the pace of development has now accelerated, and they plan to continue this progress.

He said that children are being provided with quality education. The education budget is set at Rs. 148 billion, which is 127% more than the previous budget. The health budget is Rs. 181 billion, a 131% increase compared to the current fiscal year. The development budget is 47% higher than the current year’s.

He further stated that roads are being constructed across Punjab, electric buses are being introduced, and special attention is being given to education, health, agriculture, and other sectors. To empower local governments, Rs. 764.2 billion has been allocated.

Rs. 150 billion has been set aside for waste management and Rs. 20 billion for municipal corporations. A separate Rs. 70 billion package has been introduced to ensure social protection for the public.

He also said that under the Merit Scholarship Program, Rs. 15 billion will be spent on student scholarships. Rs. 15.1 billion has been allocated for the laptop program.

Farmers will begin to see the benefits of ongoing agricultural projects within the next two to three years, and concrete steps are being taken to increase the province’s water resources.