LAHORE, Jan 1: A crisis of sorts looms large on the horizons because of the failure of district governments to kick off development projects in the first half of the current fiscal.

A source in the Punjab Accountant General’s office told Dawn here on Tuesday that the district governments had not even “identified” development schemes in their respective areas what to talk of the later stages of planning, approval and implementation.

He said a delay in the implementation of development would leave an adverse effect on the life of common man.

The provincial government is stated to have released more than Rs6 billion for development to 34 districts. “The funds were, however, released belatedly during November and December to the local governments,” said the source.

“With only six months available to the district governments to implement the uplift schemes during the current fiscal, we fear that the funds will either lapse unutilized at the end of the year or will not be properly utilized. In both the cases, the common people will suffer,” he said.

“If development is done in haste to avoid lapse of funds,” the source said, “there are chances of their misappropriation by the corrupt.”

The source blamed the situation on posting of non-professionals as executive district officers (budget and finance) in districts. “It’d have been far better if the province had thought it better to post the professional people with some experience of preparing development schemes, accounts, etc, as EDOs (budget and finance). Had it been done, the district governments may at least have identified and prepared the development schemes if not begun to implement them,” the source asserted.