Karachi, Sindh: Murad Ali Shah on Wednesday presented the Sindh budget 2026-27 worth Rs3.562 trillion in the Sindh Assembly. He proposed a 7% increase in salaries and pensions for provincial government employees and announced that there would be no new taxes.
The chief minister said the budget projected receipts of Rs3.41 trillion and a deficit of Rs242 billion. He also allocated Rs400 billion for the Annual Development Programme and Rs13.2 billion for a social protection package.
Murad Ali Shah said the minimum monthly wage would increase from Rs40,000 to Rs43,000. He also announced the merger of ad hoc relief allowances granted in 2022 and 2025 into employee pay structures.
The budget includes relief measures for businesses and taxpayers. According to the chief minister, the provincial government proposed reducing sales tax on education support services to 5%,
He also proposed lower taxes for insurance agents and brokers. For the agriculture sector, he raised the super tax exemption threshold from Rs150 million to Rs500 million and cut the rate from 10% to 8%.
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The chief minister said the federal government’s strategic requirements had forced Sindh to reduce planned development spending from Rs575 billion to Rs400 billion.
He said priority projects and essential public services had been protected despite fiscal constraints.
Karachi received the largest share of development funding. Murad Ali Shah allocated Rs100.19 billion for city-based projects. These included the Greater Karachi Sewerage Plan (S-III), the Red Line and Yellow Line BRT projects, road infrastructure, drainage upgrades, and water supply schemes.
The budget earmarked Rs13.2 billion for the Red Line BRT project and more than Rs3.5 billion for the Yellow Line corridor.
Health allocations included Rs1 billion for the Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital and Rs1.4 billion for the Paediatric Cardiology Unit at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases.
Murad Ali Shah also announced a Sindh Green Data Infrastructure Initiative and renewable energy-powered technology zones. In addition, he announced a programme to distribute 275,000 free solar home systems costing Rs18 billion to low-income households.
Opposition Leader Ali Khursheedi rejected the budget outside the assembly. He called it a “one-sided” financial plan and criticised the budget process.
