16 May 2004	Sunday	25 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

PESHAWAR, May 15: Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani said here on Saturday that the Centre was using delaying tactics to resolve the stalemate over the National Finance Commission (NFC) award.

He said the federal government had capped Rs6 billion on account of net profit on hydel power generation and deprived the province of its due rights.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of a media centre established at the information department, he vowed that the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) government would continue efforts to protect provincial rights.

"We would like to clear all the accounts, including the NFC award and the net hydel profit," Mr Durrani said, expressing the hope that all vital issues would be resolved soon.

The chief minister said poverty was on the rise in the province and majority of the population was living below the poverty line. Therefore the federal government should release the capped amount to address fundamental problems of the people of the province, he suggested.

He said the MMA government had taken certain measures and curtailed non-developmental expenditures in public sector to bring social and economic prosperity in the region.

The provincial government, he told newsmen, would link the release of government advertisements with the implementation of the Wage Board Award. He also announced that the government would give Rs5 million grant to the Peshawar Press Club annually.

Spelling out government priorities, Mr Durrani said various programmes had been initiated in different sectors, including industrial, banking, agriculture, health and education.

He said the Bank of Khyber had launched a micro-finance system. This plan had allocated 25 per cent of the finance to women and this would be enhanced up to 40 per cent within next two years.

The chief minister said a scheme had been started in prisons in the province for the welfare of women inmates while the government had earmarked Rs2.2 billion in the current budget for women development.

The Hisba bill, he said, would be presented in the provincial assembly soon.

He said the MMA believed in the freedom of press and always welcomed positive criticism. He pointed out that in the past rulers suppressed the media to keep general public in dark, which caused massive loss to the country. He maintained that the establishment of the media centre reflected the MMA policies.