The federal government has decided not to consider the provincially/locally funded projects in the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) from next fiscal year.
Official sources told Business Recorder that the Planning Commission (PC), which monitors the ongoing development projects, had complained to the Ecnec in its last meeting that provinces were not taking responsibility of their own funded projects, and recommended that it would be better to transfer all responsibility to them.
"In future all stakeholders should ensure balanced expenditures on development projects instead of rushing expenses in the last quarter of the fiscal year," sources quoted Ecnec as having decided.
They said that Ecnec discussed the monitoring problems of projects being funded by provincial governments and decided that such projects should not be brought up in this forum from the next fiscal year.
The further said that enhancement in provincial resources was estimated at Rs 51 billion, or so, by the next fiscal year, which would decrease the federal allocations.
"The allocation of additional funds from the federal divisible pool to the provinces would increase their share every year but at the same time it would go up with corresponding decrease in federal resources," sources added.
They said that in view of the prevailing trend for financing the projects from the federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) in respect of those projects located in the provinces and increase provincial share from the federal divisible pool, the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has decided that no provincial project would be financed/co-financed from PSDP from next fiscal year.
However, the ongoing commitments for financing/sharing of cost of provincial projects from the PSDP would continue, they added.
Sources said that the National Economic Council (NEC) would meet on May 31 to approve the PSDP for 2006-07, expected to be between Rs 345 and Rs 350 billion.
The NEC would review the annual plan 2005-06 and the proposed 2006-07 plan besides approving PSDP for 2006-07.
The Council would also review the progress report of the CDWP from April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2006 and Progress report of Provincial Development Working Parties (PDWPs) from April 1 to March 31, 2006 besides schemes approved by the Ecnec and the CDWP for the same period.
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