PESHAWAR, June 20: Around Rs500m developmental funds out of the total Rs3.6bn placed at the disposal of the district governments are likely to remain unutilized during the current financial year, according to official sources.

The amount has been released by the provincial government under Khushhal Pakistan Programme (KPP) and the Annual Development Programme (ADP) of the NWFP government.

“Of the total amount, the district governments could utilize over Rs2.5bn by the start of the current month,” said a highly placed official of the provincial government.

The sources apprehended that district governments, 24 in total in NWFP, were likely to surrender around Rs500m.

Some of the provincial government’s authorities, when contacted by this scribe, said the unutilized amount would be reappropriated at the start of the next financial year.

Contesting their point of view, some of the sources said that the money to be put at their disposal would form part of their share - under the developmental funds - for the next financial year.

“It would not be something that the district governments would carry forward this amount, rather, the money to be put at their disposal would be against the allocation every district government would be made for the 2002-03 financial year,” said a well-placed official sources.

The district governments’ inability to utilize their developmental funds by 100 per cent was due to their incapacity and delayed releases by the provincial government, said an independent financial expert.

According to a development planner of the province, a sum of over Rs450m is likely to be projected in the provincial government’s next financial year’s ADP after the money remained unspent out of the total funds provided to the district governments for carrying out micro level developmental works under the umbrella of KPP.