ISLAMABAD: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has urged the federal government/ Wapda to pay its due Net Hydel Profit (NHP) arrears of Rs 70 billion as the province is facing financial woes.
KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Ghandapur recently held a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and raised financial issues facing the provincial government due to undue delay by the federal government.
KP Finance Department in a letter to secretary Finance, who has also served the province as chief secretary, claimed that transfers of funds on account of Net Hydel Profit by the Wapda/federal government are the Constitutional obligation of the federal government/Wapda as enshrined in Article 161(2) ofthe 1973 Constitution, and have been erratic since long which has severely affected the financial position of KP province to meet its current and development expenditure as per approved projection in its budget estimates.
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KP’s Finance Department further claimed that for the last five months, the provincial government has not received a single penny on account of Net Hydel Profit. And, on the other hand, the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are paying their electricity bills regularly. Therefore, the non-payment of NHP on time is unjustified measure against this war-tom province.
“The chief minister also met the prime minister at the Prime Minister House on March 13, 2024 when the PM promised that the federal government will solve the financial issues of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in which the issue of Net Hydel Profit was a top priority,” said Finance Department in its letter.
Official documents revealed that the provincial government has estimated an amount of Rs 31.519 billion on account of NHP for FY 2023-24 at the rate of Rs 1.63 per unit, of which Rs 23.639 billion was due during July-March (9 months) 2024. However, federal government/Wapda has paid nothing in this regard.
According to KP government, due arrears of NHP for FY 2022-23 were Rs 21.336 billion at the rate of Rs 1.10 per kWh, of which Rs 5.609 billion were received in 2023-24. An amount of Rs 15.727 billion is still pending However, arrears of Rs 1.391 billion before FY 2022-23 have been cleared.
Finance Department further stated that arrears of Rs 30.715 billion on account of arrears of 5 percent indexation from FY 2015-16 to 2022-23 are also due from the federal government/Wapda.
Official document showed that out of grand total of Rs 84.962 billion, only Rs 7 billion have been paid whereas Rs 70.081 billion is the balance against federal government/Wapda.
The provincial government once again requested the federal government to pay all these pending arrears amounting to Rs 90.081 billion on account of Net Hydel Profit which is, as per Wapda’s generation figures communicated by Wapda as of September 29, 2023 of power stations located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The sources said that the Finance Ministry has sought update from Power Division on NHP payable to KP by the Wapda, enabling it to seek the necessary instructions from Finance Secretary and Finance Minister on the matter.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has approached the federal government for resolution of issues in energy wheeling arrangement and Use of System Charges (UoSC) to facilitate energy sector of the province.
In a letter to Power Minister, Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, KP’s Advisor to the Chief Minister for Finance, Muzammil Aslam said that the pace of industrialisation has remained slow in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa primarily due to inherent vocational disadvantages coupled with constraints in financing from banks and financial institutions, poor infrastructure facilities and inadequate utilities such as power, telecommunication and gas in many potential areas.
On May 2, 2024, KP chief minister stated that he would leave no stone unturned to get right of his province, adding that he can go to any extent in this regard.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024