February 7, 2003	Friday	Zul Hijjah 5,1423

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PESHAWAR, Feb 6: Lack of resources and capacity on part of district governments have, apparently, created doubts about the sustainability and effectiveness of over 3,800 micro-level uplift plans and repair work projects completed under the  Khushal Pakistan Programme (KPP), sources said.

“Though the viability of the KPP funded schemes is beyond any doubt as these have benefited large segments of the population,the sustainability and proper maintenance of the completed schemes certainly appear to be a question mark in view of the poor financial conditions of the district governments,” conceded a senior provincial government officer.

Sources approached by Dawn said that in a situation when majority of the 24 district governments in the NWFP were facing financial constraints, proper functioning of these schemes under the district governments would remain a serious issue.

Apart from the 3,800 completed schemes, over 2,800 more KPP funded  schemes are being executed under the supervision of the district governments. The total estimated cost of these schemes is Rs3.83bn.

Majority of the NWFP district governments, said the sources, were  finding it difficult to arrange sufficient funds to keep the completed schemes operational, due to the funds shortage.

Certain other official sources feel that apart from lacking financial resource the district governments also lack capacity  to ensure proper maintenance of the infrastructure.

The official quarters concerned attribute the poor financial condition of the district governments to the current year’s budgetary plan made by the last provincial government.

“Though the last provincial government tried to provide additional funds to the district governments who were likely to get hit by the resource distribution formula laid down under the Provincial Finance Commission award, which did not work, “ an official source said.

If the district governments were not provided with sufficient  financial resources to meet the essential expenditures in the near  future, apprehended an officer, sustainability of the development  schemes, built recently with huge investment, would become a difficult proposition for the newly established entities.

The KPP funded schemes - completed and under execution  - include over 1,000 schemes of farm-to-market roads, about 1,400 schemes of water supply  rehabilitation, more than 85 schemes of lining of watercourses and desilting of canal, over 490 schemes of repairing and resurfacing of small rural roads, 12 schemes of maintenance  and creation of water reservoirs and others.

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