PESHAWAR, May 31: The People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) has said that a consensus among provinces and the centre is not necessary for distribution of funds from the federal divisible pool under the National Finance Commission, the decision can be made on majority basis.

PPP parliamentary leader in NWFP assembly Abdul Akbar Khan told Dawn here that the consensus between the federating units and the federation would be a welcome sign, but it was not binding under the constitution.

The nine NFC members, one from the centre and eight from the four provinces, could decide about the distribution formula on majority basis, he added.

He said: “If three provinces agree and one province does not, it does not mean that the majority cannot reach an accord. The federal government has been exploiting the differences among the provinces for the past year for a particular purpose. The provinces take up this issue in May, but remain silent for 11 months which sounds like a drama and not a serious business”.

Mr Khan said this time the federal minister (Shaukat Aziz) was prime minister of the country too. The centre had only one member on the NFC forum and on its own it could not enhance the strength of the forum, while each province had two members on it, he said. It was the only forum which was not presided over by a particular member as it had no head, but they themselves could take a decision on majority basis, he said.

Mr Khan said they had always supported the NWFP government on this (NFC) issue and were even ahead of the treasury benches in and outside the house, but the government had always deprived the opposition lawmakers of their just share of schemes in the annual development programme (ADP). “We demand allocation of funds on the population basis in all the 24 districts. The districts of Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani (Bannu) and Finance Minister Sirajul Haq (Dir Lower) do not have any extra population, but all funds have been directed to these two districts, which is unjust”, he said.

He said that a government which could not do justice to its own MPAs, could not be expected to ask the centre to be just and fair.