ISLAMABAD, March 6: The federal government has directed all the ministries and the four provinces to utilize their full annual budgetary allocations before June 30 to avoid lapsing of funds.

The National Economic Council (NEC) - the highest forum for economic decision-making - is meeting here on March 15 to review progress of development projects.

"There will be no cut on Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) allocation and I am sure that Rs160 billion kept for this propose during 2003-04 will be fully utilized", claimed Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz.

Talking to Dawn here on Saturday, he further claimed that PSDP utilization was up by 8 per cent during the first two quarters of the current financial year.

He maintained that the first two quarters (July-December) witnessed the utilization of 35 per cent of PSDP allocation as compared to 27 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2002-03.

He said the review of the economy, status of the development projects and streamlining the disbursement procedure will be a 3-point agenda of the National Economic Council meeting to be presided over by Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali and attended, among others, by chief ministers and finance ministers of the provinces.

The government had earlier decided to hold the National Economic Council meeting twice a year. The next meeting will be held in the last week of May or the first week of June to discuss broad budgetary measures for 2004-04, including the new PSDP.

Responding to a question, the finance minister said the disbursement procedure needed to be streamlined and simplified so that annual budgetary allocations were fully met at the end of any financial year.

"Generally, funds lapsed due to difficult disbursement procedure which will be discussed and approved at the NEC meeting with the clearance of the prime minister", he said.

The National Economic Councilmeeting, he said, would also decide about the slow-moving development projects and putting their funding into fast-moving projects.

Replying to another question, he said that long gestation projects, especially relating to water, normally got delayed and hence their funding was not fully utilized.

However, road projects had been utilizing their full funding for which, "they could get more funding after the NEC meeting".