KARACHI — The Sindh government this month presented a Rs3.56 trillion budget for the financial year 2026-27, the largest in the province’s history, pairing modest relief for public-sector workers with a Rs400 billion development outlay while keeping the books close to balance.
Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, who holds the finance portfolio, laid the budget before the provincial assembly amid an opposition walkout. The total outlay of Rs3.56tr is set against estimated receipts of Rs3.525tr, leaving a deficit of Rs36.9 billion, according to Dawn. The budget proposes no new taxes, with the government framing it as a relief-and-development package.
For the province’s employees, the chief minister announced a 7 percent increase in salaries and pensions, effective from July 1, mirroring the increase granted in the federal budget. The 7 percent raise has been delivered by amalgamating the Adhoc Relief Allowances of 2022 and 2025 into basic pay, Dawn reported. The minimum wage in the province has been raised from Rs40,000 to Rs43,000 per month, per Dawn.
The headline development figure is a Rs400 billion Annual Development Programme — trimmed from a projected Rs575bn — a reduction the government attributed in part to a national strategic contribution of Rs260 billion routed to support wider macroeconomic stability, Dawn noted.
Within the ADP, the single largest tranche, Rs121.66 billion, has been earmarked for local government, water, sanitation and roads-related schemes, according to Dawn. Public health engineering and rural development received Rs40.86 billion, and transport and communication Rs39.54 billion. Irrigation, a perennial priority in the agrarian province, was allocated Rs30.94 billion, Dawn reported.
On the social sectors, education was allocated Rs25.86 billion in development funds and health Rs17.43 billion, while agriculture, including livestock, received Rs6.3 billion, per Dawn.
Karachi, which the government describes as the engine of the provincial economy, was again given prominent billing. “Karachi being the engine of our economy, we have given top priority to its development,” the chief minister said, as reported by ARY News. The city has been allocated Rs100.19 billion for 822 development schemes in the coming year, ARY News reported.
Among the flagship urban transport projects, the Red Line Bus Rapid Transit corridor was allocated Rs13.2 billion and the Yellow Line BRT Rs3.5 billion, according to ARY News. Health infrastructure in the city also featured, including Rs1.4 billion for a paediatric cardiology unit at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases and Rs1 billion for the Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital, ARY News reported.
The budget also carried a social-protection component, with funds directed to schemes including the Benazir Hari Card and support for women agriculture workers, widows and orphans, per ARY News.
The presentation was marked by the absence of opposition benches, who staged a walkout during the chief minister’s speech, according to ARY News. The budget now proceeds to debate and approval in the provincial assembly before taking effect at the start of the new financial year on July 1.
