ISLAMABAD: Senate Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Special Initiatives expressed serious concern over the performance of Planning Commission’s officers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government for not submitting demands to the federal Finance Ministry for the release of funds for development projects in spite of letters of reminder sent to the provincial government.
The federal government did not release funds of first quarter (15 per cent) and second quarter (20 per cent) of due to not completing codal formalities/pre-requisites of many development projects by the KP government. Even execution periods (PC-I) for five development projects has been expired due to not fulfilling pre-requisites for releasing of funds.
The committee also passed, “The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2024” to include one member of Senate and one member of the National Assembly in the CPEC Authority.
The committee met with Senator Quratulain Marri in the chair at Parliament on Thursday.
The committee discussed the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) of KP.
Committee Chairperson Marri raised the question as to why the planning officers of the KP government did not bother to reply to the letters of the Finance Ministry.
She also raised the questions, why the KP government officers did not complete the formalities to submit demands to the Finance Ministry for releasing funds for the development projects? The KP government officer neither gave the satisfactory answers nor satisfied the other members of the committee.
Secretary Planning Awais Manzur Sumra told the committee that two reminder letters were written to the KP government for submitting demands for releasing funds but it had not reply so far. He also presentedthe letters in the meeting. He said that even PC-I of two development projects; Khyber Institute of Child Health and Children’s Hospital, Peshawar and Establishment of Institute of Petroleum Technology at Karak, have expired. He said that Ministry of Planning authorised funds for first and second quarters for development project but the Finance Ministry did not releasefunds due to non-completion of formalities bythe KP government. He said that Rs3.158 billion have been allocated by Ministry of Planning for seven projects of government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Committee Chairperson Marrisaid, “It is a big failure, the ball is in the court of KP government. Three months have passed but the KP government has not completed the codal formalities.”
According to a letter, available with this correspondent,the Finance Division directed “to refer to Planning and Development Government of K.P Peshawar’s letter No C/PSDP/P&D D/2-2/ general /2024-25/442-44 dated 9th September, 2024 on, state that request for release of Rs391.604 million for 05 development schemes has been examined and it is found that execution period of the schemes PSDP Nos. 231, 2034, 235 and 236 have expired.”
“It is therefore requested that valid execution period in respect of the relevant schemes may please be furnished so that case for release of funds can be processed.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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