February 03, 2008	Sunday	Muharram 24, 1429

PESHAWAR, Feb 2: The NWFP caretaker set up froze the funds earmarked for all those projects, which were approved after the premature dissolution of former MMA government under Tameer-i-Sarhad Programme (TSP).

Decision to this effect was taken by the caretaker government after it received numerous complaints about uneven distribution of funds by the former MMA set up under TSP, sources told Dawn.

A circular was issued here on Saturday to all the District Coordination Officers (DCOs) to implement the decision, taken by caretakers on Jan 12.

The DCOs, as per the circular, were directed to stop execution of those projects that were approved after Oct 8 last year, the day the former chief minister Akram Khan Durrani recommended dissolution of the assembly prematurely.

Similarly, they have also been advised to make recoveries in case funds have been spent against any project of this kind as per fresh directives, the sources added.

The former MMA government had allocated Rs10 million for each MPA to carry out development projects in his respective constituency under TSP. But in the current fiscal year, said the sources, it deprived a number of members including those elected on seats reserved for minorities and women.

This amount, which was supposed to be given to those members, was reportedly redistributed among the lawmakers affiliated with the religious parties’ alliance increasing the annual allocation of each MPA from Rs10 million to Rs10.5 million, the sources maintained. Six MPAs, later on, moved the Peshawar High Court, which directed the provincial government to release amount for their identified projects.

The fresh directives, while making the caretaker cabinet’s decision of Jan 12 as ground, directed the respective DCOs to provide details about the projects identified by these six MPAs for which funds would be released in line with the court decision.

Likewise, the Local Government and Rural Development Department (LG&RDD) has been directed to gather details about all those projects, which were completed or in progress under TSP.

The LG&RDD has also been advised to immediately collect information about those schemes, which were approved after Oct 8 last year. The required information was containing name of concerned MPA, constituency, name of scheme, date of approval, sanctioned amount and released amount. Under the fresh directives, the DCOs have been given 10 days time to furnish all the details and comply accordingly with the instructions of caretaker government.