June 15, 2006	Thursday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 18, 1427

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PESHAWAR, June 14: The NWFP government has planned a record Rs26.63 billion Annual Development Programme (ADP) for the 2006-07.

Even though the province is going to miss the Rs21 billion development target of the outgoing year owing to slow execution of projects, the government has set an over-sized development programme for the new financial year.

Provincial Finance, Planning and Development Minister Sirajul Haq will announce the next year’s ADP along with the revenue and expenditure budget in the NWFP Assembly’s budget session starting on Thursday.

A substantial amount of funds will go to regional development and roads in continuation with the government’s policy of concentrating on the Malakand region.

According to official documents, the development outlay entails a locally funded component of Rs18.95 billion and foreign-funded development projects of Rs7.68 billion.

The locally funded component involves a total of 1,006 projects of which 236 are new plans and the rest forms ongoing works.

Of the Rs18.95 billion earmarked for the locally funded component, Rs13.88 billion has been allocated for ongoing schemes whereas Rs5.06 billion will go to new works.

According to the sector-wise allocation under the locally funded component of the ADP, schools and literacy will get Rs2.75 billion, higher education Rs918 million, health Rs2.17 billion, drinking water and sanitation Rs335 million, social welfare Rs60 million, auqaf/haj/minorities Rs25 million, roads Rs2.66 billion, building and housing Rs301 million, urban development Rs102 million, water Rs824 million, agriculture Rs246 million, forestry Rs217 million, environment Rs19 million, tourism Rs102 million, power Rs300 million, industries Rs405 million, regional development Rs2.15 billion, research and development Rs50 million, population welfare 419 million and special programmes Rs2.61 billion.

Out of the funds specified for special programmes, Rs176 million will go to the Drought Emergency Relief Assistance project, Rs150 million to the devolution trust fund project, Rs348.8 million to the access to justice programme, Rs35 million to the police reforms programme, Rs1 million to the decentralisation support programme, Rs100 million to ESR, Rs1 billion to NPI and Rs800 million to development works covered under the Agriculture Support Programme Loan-II.

Districts will get Rs963.393 million to support their uplift programmes. Each of the 24 districts governments n the province will be given funds on the basis of a resource distribution formula worked out under the Provincial Finance Commission award.

An amount of Rs1.24 billion will be spent under the Tameer-i-Sarhad Programme under which all 124 members of the provincial assembly will be provided with Rs10 million each to plan and execute development works in their constituencies.

Out of the Rs7.68 billion allocation for the foreign-aided projects, the provincial government will raise Rs1.337 billion through its own resources as ‘counter part funds’.

In accordance with the sector-wise plan for the foreign-aided projects, agriculture will receive Rs33 million, drinking water and sanitation Rs50 million, forestry Rs55 million, health Rs254.16 million, industries Rs150 million, power Rs99.6 million, regional development Rs3.92 billion, research and development Rs64 million, roads Rs2.58 billion, schools and literacy Rs276 million and water sector Rs183 million.

Against the Rs6.87 billion earmarked for foreign-funded projects in 2005-06, a negligible amount of Rs1.45 billion was spent during the first nine months of the current fiscal.