The Planning Commission (PC) has failed to furnish the final estimates of utilisation of Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) allocation for the fiscal 2006-07, despite the Commission verbal claim that around 98 percent of allocation has been spent on it, sources told Business Recorder.
"The final estimates of utilisation have not been furnished," said the sources, adding that without the final estimates, the claim of spending 98 percent on the PSDP would remain a hollow slogan.
In the budget making process for the current fiscal year, it was claimed by the Planning Commission high-ups that over Rs 246 billion out of the Rs 250 billion net financing for federal development projects in the last fiscal year. The total allocation for the federal programme was Rs 270, but the Commission wasof the view that there was operational shortfall of Rs 20 billion. These high-ups were also on the record to have stated that final estimates would be furnished after final review meeting of the PSDP 2006-07.
Sources said the final review meeting was held almost a month ago, and the ministries and other government departments have submitted their spending against the allocation for the last fiscal year. But so far, there is no any final figure has been furnished, they added.
They claimed that the final estimates of spending were not furnished even after the closing of the last fiscal year. There is no detail as to what amount has been spent either on infrastructure, social and other sectors. Like this fiscal year, the infrastructure sector was given the highest allocation out of Rs 270 billion federal PSDP.
Framing the PSDPs each fiscal year, they said the Planning Commission uses to make tall claims about the increase in the PSDP size, but when it comes to monitoring the spending or utilisation of the development budget, then the Commission makes itself responsible only for a portion of the PSDP allocation.
The total PSDP size was more than Rs 385 billion in the last fiscal year if you include Rs 115 billion for provincial development programme. There was an additional allocation of Rs 50 billion for Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority (Erra) in the last fiscal year. However, the Planning Commission and the Planning and Development (P&D) were not responsible for overseeing the spending of this allocation.
The Planning Commission along with the Planning and Development (P&D) Division goes for having the spending details of only Rs 250 billion, and the huge amount of Rs 135 billion stands unaccounted for as long as the role of the Commission and the P&D as guarantor or monitoring body to oversee the PSDP spending is concerned, the sources said.
The Planning and Development and the Planning Commission have almost no short of workforce as such especially after fresh induction of members, advisers, projects directors, research officers and their subordinate staff in the last few years. In this scenario, both should have evolved a mechanism to oversee the spending of the PSDP as a whole, the source added.
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