The Annual Development Plan (ADP) for erstwhile Federal Administration Tribal Areas (Fata) for the fiscal year of 2018-19 may lapse due to delay in issuing of the remaining two quarters, it was learnt. As per the allocated grant for the fiscal period 2018-19, the ADP was Rs 24,000 million for uplift of the erstwhile Fata. The first quarter was Rs 4,800 million (20pc) of the total was released in November last year. While, the second quarter was released on Feb 13 2019, sources said.
According to the sources, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has failed to release the remaining two quarters of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) for the seven newly-merged tribal districts for the financial year of 2018-19, creating hurdles to the ongoing projects in the tribal region.
The sources further added that the delay in release of ADP first and second quarter budget was due to the merger process of erstwhile Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They added that the Fata secretariat has requested for the first grant of ADP on the July 1 2018, but it was delayed in releasing of first quarter of ADP due to formation of the new government in the province. The first quarter was approved in the October 2018 and the amount was released in November 2018.
The sources said that the construction work usually remain suspended in the hilly areas of tribal districts from December to March due to severe weather due to which 70 percent of ADP was utilised of the first quarter. The KP Planning and Development Department has requested for the 3rd quarter of Rs 7,200 million which is the 30 percent of the remaining ADP grant.
The delay in the approval of the remaining two quarters of ADP will not only affected financial constraints but also deprived hundreds of project employees of their salaries. The delay in the payment of salaries triggered unrest among the project based employees.
After the merger of erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the sources informed that the approval of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) for tribal region is no longer under the jurisdiction of the KP Governor. Now the ADP will be approved by KP Assembly.
It was informed that the Fata Development Working Party (FDWP), the highest forum for scrutinizing and approving developmental projects in erstwhile Fata was dissolved last year.
Now, the scrutinizing and approving goes to the Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP), the sources said. They furthermore maintained that the mechanism for the release of funds from the federal government to the civil secretariat for the former Fata had been changed in the wake of amendment to the Constitution.
They said before their merger with the province, the federal government used to release funds to tribal districts directly. "Now, the secretariat for the defunct Fata will send a request to the federal government through the KP government for the release of funds.
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