PESHAWAR, March 12: The NWFP government?s bid to make district governments plan and execute major projects under their respective Annual Development Programme for the 2004-05 financial year remained unfulfilled after none of the districts complied with instructions, officials told Dawn.

The provincial government had asked district governments to divert part of their respective Annual Development Programme for the 2004-05 financial year for carrying out major development works.

?But that has not happened,? a well-placed official said. Informed sources said that the district governments had not paid heed to the provincial finance commission?s (PFC) recommendation under which they were required to allocate 40 per cent of their respective development budget for major projects.

The recommendation, the official sources said, had been made part of the PFC award for the 2004-05 financial year to stop distribution of development funds by district governments on proportionate basis among their respective union councils.

?Despite clear instructions to stop distribution of funds among unions councils on proportionate basis, the district governments continued with the practice and ignored the PFC?s recommendation,? said a development planner.

The sources said that the provincial government wanted to discontinue the practice because in this way each of the union councils got paltry sum which did not allow proficient use of the development funds provided to all the 24 districts of the province.

The NWFP government?s PFC award for the 2004-05 financial year clearly stipulates that: ?Districts will allocate a minimum of 40 per cent of funds for major projects/schemes.?

The sources said that the district government did not follow the PFC award despite being reminded on numerous occasions during the current financial year by the provincial planning and development department.

?The P & D department?s reminders remained unattended as the district governments have not planned major development programmes and kept going with the old practice of dolling out money to union councils by equally dividing the total amount among them,? said a planning officer.

Development planners are of the view that the distribution of funds among union councils on proportionate basis, during the past three years, has not left much impact as far as improving the infrastructure was concerned.

?Though the condition of streets, drains, pavements and street-lights has improved, in many districts, by distributing funds among union councils on proportionate basis, the funds released to the district governments could have been utilized in a more proficient manner,? said a development planner.

Similar views were expressed by the executive planning officers of a couple of districts who, on request of anonymity, said that district nazims of their districts preferred to distribute development funds on equal basis among the union councils to protect their political interests, which could have been threatened in case of going for major projects.

?District nazims do not want to creat trouble for themselves by initiating major schemes which would not have left them with money to distribute among the nazims of union councils,? said a finance manager of the province.