The failure to reach a consensus on the sixth National Finance Commission (NFC) award prompted the NWFP government to demand payment of net hydel profit before the upcoming budget.
Following the stalemate on the new NFC award, the Frontier government has approached the Centre for the resolution of net hydel profit issue so that the province could get resources to finalise its budget.
Sources told Business Recorder here on Tuesday that the NWFP government had asked the federal authorities that the annual amount of net hydel profit is Rs 17 billion per year, while the province was being given only Rs 6 billion per year out of the "agreed amount".
An official in the NWFP said that the federal authorities had not formally informed the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) government about the fixation of amount of net hydel profit at Rs 12 billion as a temporary arrangements.
The Frontier government expects nothing extraordinary in additional grants that are to be issued to provinces by President General Pervez Musharraf under his discretionary powers.
"We are not against the additional grant to the province beyond the old NFC formula. But it will be helpful as well if the Ministry of Water and Power and the federal government agreed to give net hydel profit to the province as early as possible," said the official.
Instead of seeking any additional grants from the Centre, the NWFP government has decided to step up its efforts for getting net hydel profit.
"Our demand is genuine. We demanded nothing unconstitutional," said the official.
Seriously disturbed with the share of the NWFP in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) approved by the National Economic Council (NEC), the NWFP administration is said to be in some serious troubles in budget making.
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