HYDERABAD, June 28: Senior Sindh Minister for Finance and Cooperation Syed Sardar Ahmad has said there has been no headway on the NFC award issue. He was speaking to journalists at a ceremony held for distribution of cheques among to health and educational institutions in the private/NGO sector under the Sindh Devolved Social Service Programme organized by the district government at a hotel here on Tuesday.

“So far there is no progress in the matter and we are waiting. The nine-member commission has to take a unanimous decision before the award is passed and if there is no consensus then it cannot be passed”, the minister said. Under such circumstances, he added, the president might extend the existing award.

Answering a question about monetary losses to Sindh due to non-passage of the NFC award, he said Sindh expected to get between Rs15 and Rs20 billion if the new award was passed and added that if Sindh’s demand of 50 per cent allocations for the provinces and 50 per cent for the centre was accepted then the provinces would get maximum funds. He said a multiple factors formula was also under consideration which could lead to more revenue allocations to the smaller provinces.

The minister further said areas that had been declared separate districts were getting their due share of funds. He said government officers had been appointed there and separate budgetary allocations had been made for them.

Replying to a question about deficit of Rs8.9 billion in the Sindh budget, he said: “The deficit will not be more than Rs1 billion on the revenue side because we have reports from the central government that we will get another Rs5 billion from it. And, under the capital head, the deficit will be around Rs3.5 to Rs4 billion.”

Answering another question, he said district governments had been asked not to prepare budgets as they would only be getting their routine expenses of salaries and miscellaneous. He said district governments would only get funds for ongoing schemes and there would be no release of funds for new schemes.

He dismissed reports suggesting that the provincial finance department did not release full funds of one line budget to district governments.