PESHAWAR, Sept 4: The NWFP annual development programme (ADP) for the financial year 2002-03 ended in a fiasco after the recently compiled data left the province with total development expenditure of around Rs7 billion — much less than the revised ADP size of Rs11.57 billion.

Officials at the NWFP planning and development and finance departments confirmed that development expenditure remained close to Rs7 billion in the fiscal 2002-03 inclusive of funds arranged by internal and external resources.

“Total development expenditure ended at a place between Rs6.5 billion and Rs7 billion, making about 55 per cent of the total revised size of the last fiscal year’s ADP,” said a senior development planner. The finance department officials also confirmed when approached to double check the information.

Originally, the province had planned to spend a total of Rs13.673 billion under the ADP. Later, the size was brought down to Rs11.569 billion due to the provincial government’s inability to make its project implementing agencies to execute the projects at a fast pace.

The recently compiled figures of development expenditure for the financial year 2002-03 revealed that the provincial government miserably failed to meet the downward revised expenditure target.

The sources attributed the low utilization of development funds to a variety of reasons, including slow execution of development schemes, delayed preparation of PC-Is to start execution on new development schemes and delay in release of funds by the finance department.

Development planners said that achievement of set target of expenditure — Rs11.57 billion — was next to impossible because of the fact that the provincial government could not ensure that the required funds could be arranged and put at the disposal of the project implementing agencies.

Against a total expenditure requirements of Rs11.57 billion, said the sources, the funds released for the execution of development works stood between Rs8 billion and Rs9 billion, making achievement of expenditure target impossible.

A finance manager of the province said the government did not release the total amount of the funds after it was realized that the amount already released — between Rs8 billion and Rs9 billion — would not be utilized 100 per cent.

According to the sources, total expenditure in the fiscal 2002-03 remained about 80 per cent of the total funds released by the provincial government.

The latest data, said an official, left the provincial government at an awkward position as it was set to enter into crucial round of talks with a World Bank team scheduled to start annual review progress made by NWFP.

Though, said the sources, total development expenditure remained much less than the downward revised size of the ADP, the NWFP government managed to put an impressive show as far as the social sector development expenditure was concerned.

Major part of the $90 million first tranche of SAC provided in the fiscal 2002-03 had been diverted to improve education and health sectors, the sources said.