PESHAWAR, June 16: Reiterating its stand over the net hydel profit issue and proportionate share of federating units under the National Finance Commission award, the NWFP government has demanded increase in the capped share amount of net hydel profit and downward revision in the Centre’s share in the Federal Divisible Pool under the new NFC award.

Presenting the provincial government’s budget for the next financial year here on Monday, the provincial minister for finance, Mr Siraj-ul-Haq, repeated the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal-led NWFP government’s stand over the two disputed issues and expressed the resolve to struggle for achieving provincial rights guaranteed under the Constitution.

He demanded of the federal government to raise the capped share amount of net hydel profit from the existing level of Rs6 billion to Rs15 billion — an increase of Rs9 billion per annum.

He further demanded of the federal government to ensure that the province should be released funds in monthly instalments on a regular basis to help the province avoid financial crisis it had had faced for the last several years due to irregular disbursements by Wapda under the net profit account.

The minister said the federal government’s failure to announce the new NFC award before the start of the new financial year would lend a negative impact on the provincial resources and provincial government would suffer heavily.

He demanded that the federal government’s share under the federal divisible pool should be reduced in the new NFC award and provinces’ share should be increased to 60 per cent from the existing 37.5 per cent in current NFC award.

Appreciating the current Provincial Finance Commission (PFC) award, given by the last military-backed civil government, the minister said the provincial government had decided to continue it for one more year in the absence of the new NFC award.

“Till the time the provincial government does not know the quantum of its resources under the new NFC award, we cannot give PFC award for a three-year term,” said the minister.

During the next financial year, said the minister, district governments recording additional revenue receipts would be given 100 per cent matching grant by the provincial government in an attempt to encourage them.

Similarly, the salary budget of those district governments who were faced with problems during the outgoing financial year would be revised upward by 10 per cent.

A sum of Rs963 million would be distributed among the district governments, on the basis of a resource distribution formula envisaged under the PFC award, for carrying out district-specific development schemes.

Around one billion rupees would be provided to them to meet their non-development expenditures whereas the provincial government would continue to maintain the salary component of the district governments’ budgets.

The provincial government would establish a monitoring system to ensure that funds transferred to the districts, tehsils and union councils was spent in light of recommendations of the PFC for the 2003-04 financial year.

ECONOMY MEASURES: The provincial government, said the minister for finance, would set up an independent commission under his chairmanship to ensure that non-development expenditures of the province were curtailed significantly during the next three financial years.