November 24, 2003	Monday	Ramazan 28, 1424

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QUETTA, Nov 23: Provincial Finance Minister Syed Ehsan Shah said here on Sunday that Balochistan had suggested six indicators for inclusion in the NFC Award formula for the distribution of national resources.

“We have submitted all our suggestions in writing in the first NFC meeting,” Mr Shah was speaking to a group of newsmen.

He said the indicators suggested by Balochistan include backwardness, population, area, tax collection, scattered population in Balochistan and allocation of a percentage of the total divisible resources for the equal distribution amongst all the four provinces.

Mr Shah, who represented the province in the first meeting as member of the National Finance Commission, said in the first meeting of the new NFC, the finance ministers of three small provinces had agreed to reject distribution of the national resources on the population basis only.

He further said it was also demanded in the meeting that the provinces should be given 80 per cent share from the divisible resources instead of 38 per cent.

It was also suggested in the meeting that the share of the Centre should be fixed 20 per cent of the overall divisible resources, he further said. At present, he went on to say, the provinces were getting 38 per cent while 62 per cent resources were going to the Centre.

The provincial finance minister said that he had also demanded that Balochistan should be given all development surcharge it was generating.

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