PESHAWAR: Speakers at a seminar here on Tuesday underscored the significance of constitutional mechanism for fiscal federalism and equitable distribution of revenues from various sources between the centre and the provinces.

The seminar on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa budget, issues and solutions was arranged by National ThinkTank. It was chaired by Dr Syed Akhtar Ali Shah, former home secretary.

Himayatullah Khan, former adviser to chief minister, andSyed Badshah Bukhari, former secretary of finance, also spoke on the occasion.

Syed Badshah Bukhari highlighted the key aspects of the budget, including the allocation offunds for various sectors and projects. He said that budget was meant to promote socio-economic development in the province, with a focus on infrastructure development, education and healthcare. The budget also included provisions for merged districts.

Himayatullah Khan talked about share of federal government and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in hydel power profit. He saidthat provincial government should advocate for getting its share in net hydel profit from the federal government.

He said that getting share in net hydel profit was crucial for the economic development of the province and a significant source of revenue for the province. `The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government should work within the constitutional framework to ensure that its share in net hydel profit is allocated to it fairly and transparently. This would help in addressing the financial challenges faced by the province and promoting sustainabledevelopment,` he added.

Speakers said that federal government should allocate its due share in resources to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa within the constitutional framework.

They talked about the challenges faced by the province.

They said that although presenting provincial budget before the federal government was not unconstitutional, yet it remained a speculative assumption as more than 90 per cent of revenues came from the federation.

The seminar highlighted the likelihood of short releases, leading to challenges in deficitfinancing for the province.

Despite commendable allocations for projects like Chashma Right Canal Lift Scheme and roads connecting major cities of the province, concerns were raised about the sustainability of subsidies. The forecast indicated that salary and pension liabilities could surpass revenues, potentially hindering socio-economic development.

The participants of the seminar also agreed on the necessity of having a representative of provincial government present at an upcoming seminar on budget to be conducted at Peshawar Club.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2024