PESHAWAR, June 8: The federal budget for the 2003-04 financial year envisages a total transfer of over Rs30bn to the NWFP, reflecting an increase of 9.7 per cent in comparison with the revised budgetary estimates of the outgoing financial year.

A major chunk of Rs24.375bn would be transferred to the province against its share under the Federal Divisible Pool (FDP).

Apart from that, a sum of Rs686.6m is expected to be provided to the province in the form of straight transfers involving proceeds of royalty on crude oil and natural gas.

In addition, the province is set to get subvention of Rs3.898bn during the 2003-04 financial year — in line with the outgoing financial year.

Besides, a sum of Rs1.096bn would be transferred to the province for onward distribution among the district governments as support to them from the federal government during the 2003-04 financial year.

The province would thus receive a total of Rs30.1bn in the 2003-04 financial year as against over Rs27.1bn the provincial government has been projected to end up with, when the current year is out.

Against the total Rs25.061bn to be transferred from the FDP and as part of straight transfers during the 2003-04 financial year, the NWFP is slated to round off the current year with taking total proceeds of Rs22.267bn under the same two heads.

The province has been projected to receive Rs21.901bn from the FDP and Rs367m through straight transfers during the 2002-03 financial year.

The revised budgetary estimates for the outgoing financial year left the provincial government better off in comparison with the initially projected figures conveyed to the province before the start of the current financial year.

The province had been projected to get Rs21.6bn from the FDP during the 2002-03 financial year against which it has now been projected — under the revised estimates of the federal government — to receive Rs21.9bn, reflecting a raise of Rs300m.

However, the province received Rs207m less than the initially projected figure under the straight transfers during the 2002-03 financial year.

Despite the fact the province was not released the amount of Rs573m it had initially been projected during 2002-03, the federal government has set the projection on a higher side — Rs686m — for the 2003-04 financial year.