PESHAWAR, Sept 20: The NWFP government could utilize Rs10.9 billion out of Rs17.63 billion revised annual development programme (ADP) for the 2004-05, which was 63 per cent of the target, according to well placed official sources.
The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal-led NWFP government had initially set a total expenditure target of Rs16.2 billion for its 2004-05 financial year’s ADP, but during the third quarter of the last financial year it was revised upward by over Rs1 billion to Rs17.3 billion.
The ‘over-optimistic’ target, according to official sources, was aimed at convincing foreign donors for providing more development funds to the province in the 2004-05 financial year.
Against the revised development expenditure of Rs17.3 billion the provincial government, according to official sources, released a slightly over Rs13 billion to its project executing agencies. The projects pertained to various sectors and their sub-sectors including health, education, drinking water supply and sanitation, social welfare, roads, building, urban development, water, agriculture, power, forestry, environment, tourism, industries, regional development, etc. The Rs10.9 billion total development expenditure incurred during the 2004-05 financial year, according to the recently compiled figures, makes about 83 per cent of the Rs13.2 billion the provincial government released to its project executing agencies - much less than the Rs17.3 billion it was eying to utilize by the end of the 2004-05 financial year.
A high level meeting to be attended by senior functionaries is expected shortly to review last financial year’s ADP and sector-wise performance in terms of funds utilized by various departments and their attached wings.
According to official documents, the foreign funded component of the last financial year’s ADP ended in a fiasco as against the initially set expenditure target of Rs5.6 billion the province could utilize only Rs1.7 billion.
Even the government could not ensure to utilize 100 per cent an amount of Rs1.9 billion which was disbursed among project executing agencies against the funds allocated for development works falling under the purview of the foreign funded component of the 2004-05 financial year’s ADP.
Similarly, the provincial government could not materialize the Rs8.56 billion provincially funded component of the ADP. The province recorded total expenditure of Rs7.85 billion against the provincial component of the ADP.
Similarly, development expenditure under the district programme, social welfare programme and special programme remained much lower than the funds the government wanted to utilize by the close of the 2004-05 financial year.
