PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has diverted Rs1.41 billion worth of development funds to the chief minister’s home district, Swat, with the finance department declaring the move re-appropriation of the money, which was originally meant for projects in other districts.

Details available with Dawn show that the funds in question were allocated for several projects approved in the 2018-19 annual development programme (ADP).

An official letter said the amount was appropriated in the current ADP for seven sectors, including education, poverty reduction, food, reconstruction and rehabilitation.

Finance dept declares move re-appropriation of money that was originally meant for other districts

The planning and development department had requested the finance department for the inter-sectoral re-appropriation of funds valuing Rs1.41 billion.

“The finance department agrees to accept the surrendered amount of Rs1.415 billion from the schemes during the current financial year 2018-19. Further, the department agrees to the provision of funds through technical supplementary grant to the following ADP schemes for expenditure subject to the observance of all codal formalities required under the rules during the current financial year,” the department said in the letter issued on March 7.

The documents showed that the funds had been re-appropriated to 37 schemes and 31 of those schemes were meant for the home district of Chief Minister Mahmood Khan.

In addition, Rs75 million has been diverted from those funds to the solarisation of the chief minister’s house and chief minister’s secretariat.

The re-appropriated Rs1.41 billion was initially appropriated in the ADP for schemes in seven sectors under the inter-sectoral programme.

Sources said Rs695 million allocated for the standardisation of 200 higher secondary schools for boys and girls in the ADP.

They said the allocated amount had been re-appropriated for other schemes.

“The re-appropriation of funds before the end of the third quarter of the financial year is very unusual,” an official said, adding that such measures were taken after the third quarter when the department concerned revised schemes.

The official said Rs695 million was appropriated in the ADP for the provision of facilities like laboratories, electricity, libraries and new classrooms to schools under the standardisation programme.

Most of the schools don’t have science labs and libraries.

Similarly, Rs407 million appropriated in the ADP for the implementation of 100 days plan has also been re-appropriated.

Sources said the re-appropriation of funds had adversely affected schemes in other districts after the diversion to projects in Swat.

A major chunk of the re-appropriated amount has been allocated to 12 schemes, including the construction of roads and improvement, restoration and rehabilitation of sports facilities in Swat district’s Matta tehsil, where the chief minister hails from.

Opposition in the provincial assembly has been accusing the government of making an inequitable allocation and distribution of development funds.

Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal MPA Inayatullah Khan said the opposition had decided to challenge disparity in the appropriation of development funds in the Peshawar High Court.

“The recent re-appropriation of funds to schemes in a specific district is unethical and therefore, the opposition will take up this issue on the floor of the house as it wants an immediate end to this practice,” he said.

He demanded the constitution of a statutory body on the pattern of the Provincial Finance Commission for the equitable distribution of funds allocated in the ADP.

Riaz Mohammad, the nazim of Lower Dir district’s Timergara tehsil, said the provincial government had allocated Rs1 billion for the beautification of district headquarters across the province.

He alleged that revenue and estate minister Shakeel Ahmad had played a role for the diversion of funds to his native Malakand area and thus, denying the people of Lower Dir their due share in them.

The nazim said PC-I of the beautification project was approved by the last government before the 2018 general elections.

Information Minister Shaukat Ali Yousafzai did not offer comments on the matter.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2019