PESHAWAR, May 16: Thirty-nine towns in the NWFP recorded zero development expenditure during the first nine months of the current financial year, official sources said. “Utilization of development funds by town municipal administrations has become a matter of concern for the provincial government as out of over 60 TMAs, 39 have reported no expenditure on development activities to the provincial planning and development department during the first nine months of 2004-05 financial year,” said a development planner of the province.

The provincial government distributed over Rs128 million among 61 TMAs during the July-March period of the current fiscal year.

Under the Provincial Finance Commission award, the government is supposed to distribute Rs260 million among towns on the basis of a resource-distribution formula evolved for the purpose.

Only 22 town municipal administrations have reported spending funds put at their disposal on uplift schemes till March 30.

The low utilization of funds was attributed to differences among district governments and their subordinate TMAs. The sources said a large number of town nazims/ naib nazims did not have working relationship with the nazim and naib nazim of their district as a result of which official work and pace of development activities suffered a lot.

“District governments do not cooperate with their TMAs in several cases whereas in certain instances TMAs try to by-pass the district administration, which lead to controversies affecting official work,” said an official.

“The situation has seriously affected the development process in the province,” he added.

The TMAs failed to put up an impressive performance despite the fact that they were provided development funds directly by the provincial government in deviation from the past practice.

The decision to provide funds directly to the TMAs was taken after several complaints were lodged by them against their district governments for non-provision of development funds in time.

“However, the change could not bring the desired results,” said the official and added that out of Rs128 million distributed among the TMAs, they collectively spent slightly over Rs20 million.

The TMAs which reported zero expenditure include Peshawar city district’s all four town governments, Nowshera district’s Nowshera Kalan, Akora Khattak and Jehangira town governments, Swabi district’s Swabi TMA, Kohat district’s Lachi, Gumbat and Shakardara TMAs, Abbottabad district’s Abbottabad, Nawansher and Havelian TMAs, Haripur district’s Haripur TMA, Mansehra district’s all the three TMAs, Battagram district’s both TMAs, Kohistan district’s all three TMAs, D. I. Khan district’s Kulachi and D.I. Khan TMAs, Bannu district’s both TMAs, Lakki district’s both TMAs, Buner district’s both TMAs, Shangla district’s Puran TMA, Chitral district’s both TMAs, Dir (Upper) district’s both TMAs, Dir (Lower) district’s both TMAs and Malakand district’s Batkhela TMA.

Officials said several TMAs — with zero development expenditure — had not yet put their annual development programmes in place even though less than two months were left in the current financial year which would come to an end on June 30.