KARACHI, Oct 18: The provinces may lose a part of their federally-funded development programme in the current fiscal year as a first aftershock of the massive earthquake that destroyed Muzaffarabad and other regions in Azad Kashmir and Mansehra and Balakot in NWFP

Well-placed sources indicated a possible cut of Rs4 to 5 billion in the federally-funded development programme for the provinces in the current fiscal year. But the cut is not being applied directly in the name of earthquake. The federal government indicated that all those development schemes, which had not been approved by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP), would be dropped from the proposed Rs272 billion PSDP.

The next meeting of the CDWP is being held next Monday where a decision will be taken on the issue of slashing provincial developmental programmes. At stake for Sindh is three health-related major development schemes involving an outlay of over Rs2 billion.

The sources blamed the federal health secretary for putting the fate of these three schemes at risk as he neither made any observation nor gave any conceptual approval in last more than six months.

Sources said that in one of the meetings the deputy chairman of Planning Commission added one more tier in approval process of the development schemes by asking the provinces to seek comments of the respective federal ministries on development schemes before getting approval from the CDWP.

Accordingly, the Sindh government referred the three health-related schemes to the federal health secretary more than six months ago. Despite several reminders, the federal health secretary did not review the schemes, hence the threat of possible scrapping of these development projects.

One of these development projects is setting up of a trauma centre in the city at a cost of Rs1.2 billion. The demand for setting up a trauma centre in the city was being made for last several years. It was included in the PSDP this year.

The second project is upgaradation of a hospital in Gambat near Khairpur to an Institute of Medical Sciences with the status of a teaching hospital. It is a Rs800 million project. The third project is setting up of CT Scan facilities at Hyderabad, Nawabshah, Larkana and Sukkur at a cost of Rs55 million.

Mainly because of the indifference of the federal health secretary, the fate of these projects now hang in balance and may be put off indefinitely.