KP, GB likely to lose Rs5.4 billion funds over slow utilisation

Published February 10, 2020
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan governments are likely to lose Rs5.4 billion ($35 million) grant meant for reducing climate change-induced disaster and glacier lack outburst floods due to slow utilisation of funds, according to officials of different departments. — AFP/File
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan governments are likely to lose Rs5.4 billion ($35 million) grant meant for reducing climate change-induced disaster and glacier lack outburst floods due to slow utilisation of funds, according to officials of different departments. — AFP/File

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan governments are likely to lose Rs5.4 billion ($35 million) grant meant for reducing climate change-induced disaster and glacier lack outburst floods due to slow utilisation of funds, according to officials of different departments.

“The Green Climate Fund, the donor agency of the project, has communicated to the government of Pakistan that it can withdraw the pledged funds if the federal ministry of climate change does not accelerate utilisation of funds in the designated areas of KP and GB,” officials in three provincial departments including agriculture, environment and relief, rehabilitation and settlement department told Dawn.

Officials said that plan for climate change-induced disaster and glacier lack outburst floods was approved in 2017 by the federal ministry for climate change and GCF had pledged Rs5.7 billion ($37 million) through United Nation Development Programme.

They said that initially the donor agency released around Rs1.5 billion ($10 million) to the ministry of climate change, however, less than 10 per cent of the released amount could be spent in three years in KP and GB due to lack of interest of the department.

They said that as per agreement, the donor agency would release rest of the funds after the utilisation of the previous funds. “Now the slow utilisation has been noticed by the GCF board based in South Korea and it would be discussed in its next meeting,” officials added.

Donor agency hints at withdrawing grant for reducing environmental disasters

The donor agency has also verbally conveyed to the government of Pakistan that it could withdraw the pledged funds if work is not accelerated on the project.

It is worth to mention here that glaciers have rapidly melting in Pakistan’s northern mountain ranges (the Hindu Kush, Himalayas and Karakorum) located in GB and eight districts of KP including Upper and Lower Chitral, Upper Dir, Lower Dir, Swat, Mansehra, Kohistan, Kohistan Lower and Kolai Palas Kohistan.

The objectives of the project are to empower communities to identify and manage risks associated with glacial lack outburst floods and related impacts of climate change, strengthen public services to lower the risk of disasters and improve community preparedness and disaster response.

The scheme will also support development of sustainable options for livelihoods in project areas, with a particular focus on the participation of women in ensuring food security and livelihoods.

“As per the Green Climate Fund books, we are in year-3 of implementation but the project implementation is still at very initial stages,” said a resident representative of UNDP, Ignacio Artaza, in a recent meeting held in Islamabad with all stakeholders, according to the initial minutes of the meeting being distributed among all the departments for comments.

He told the meeting that the donor was inquiring from UNDP regarding the delivery and utilisation of the agreed amounts and additional disbursements could be requested from GCF to execute activities if implementation was expedited.

“We have to submit the approved annual working plan 2020 to GCF which should be approved by the ministry of climate change within a week, for its submission to UNDP headquarters to convincingly demonstrate the project to compensate for inception delays,” Mr Artaza told the meeting as mentioned in the minutes.

The officials told Dawn that Adviser to Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Ameen Aslam had taken the responsibility in the “prime minister’s six months plan” that by July 2020 the department would utilise Rs2.2 billion of the GCF fund.

However, they said that the ministry of climate change was yet to approve annual working plan 2020 despite the lapse of one and a half months. They added that funds couldn’t be utilised without the annual working plan.

Joudat Ayaz, the national project director, when contacted, held the officials of UNDP and climate change ministry responsible for the delay, saying both literally destroyed the project.

“I would say that officials of UNDP are 70 per cent responsible for the delay while the climate change is 30 per cent responsible,” Mr Ayaz told Dawn, who is also additional secretary of climate change department.

Asked when his department would approve working plan for 2020, he said that it would be done soon.

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2020

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