HYDERABAD, June 10: The provincial finance department has refused to release allocation of Rs151 million in the Annual Development Programme (ADP) 2002-2003 for the district government Hyderabad, leading to the delay of 58 packages of dozens of development schemes of roads and streets in 102 union councils in the district and subsequent protest by members of the District Council, inquiries by Dawn on Wednesday revealed.

According to the district Nazim, Hyderabad, Dr Makhdoom Rafiquzzaman, it was, in fact, an amount of Rs151 million that has to be allocated and released for block allocations of the Annual Development Programme (ADP), but it was not being done by the Sindh Finance department. The Sindh government had not allocated a single paisa for block allocations of the ADP.

The district Nazim said that he took up the matter with the then governor, Mohammedmian Soomro, and his principal secretary, Brig (retd) Akhtar Zamin, and succeeded in persuading them to make block allocations of Rs151 million for the ADP.

He said that the governor had spoken to the finance secretary over the phone, directing him to ensure block allocations of Rs151 million.

He said that it was all done orally and no documents had been prepared.

He said that since the government had changed, the new government was not allocating the said amount on the grounds that there were no documents of any such block allocations for the district government.

The district government plans to get Rs151 million transferred in account No4, which could not lapse and could be operated in the new fiscal year.

The Hyderabad Development Authority has surrendered around Rs76 million to the district government, but these could be utilized for the on-going development schemes after the amount is reappropriated.

The district Nazim said that the Hyderabad Development Authority did not utilize this amount on the ground that there was duplication of four development schemes, being executed by the HDA, and they were also included in the Greater Sewerage Programme, launched by the Sindh government in collaboration with the Islamic Bank in the late 80s.