PESHAWAR, July 8: Non-payment of the net hydel profit share to NWFP on monthly basis during the out-going financial year by Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) has come in defiance to President General Pervez Musharraf’s instructions on the issue, according to official sources.

The sources told Dawn here on Monday that chief executive General Pervez Musharraf had issued clear instructions to Wapda to ensure releases of the Frontier’s net hydel profit share on time.

The province underwent serious financial crisis during the last financial year because the Wapda did not release net hydel profit share to NWFP for most part of the year.

Against the total annual Rs6bn share, the province had received only Rs1.71bn, and on June 26 the rest of the amount of Rs4.29bn was received which enabled the provincial government to present its budget for new financial year on June 28. An special mention to this effect was also made by the provincial finance minister Farid Rehman during his post-budget press conference on June 29.

A reference to the effect of non-compliance of chief executive General Pervez Musharraf’s instructions by Wapda has also been mentioned in the provincial government’s budget document for the new financial year.

The White Paper of the provincial government’s financial year for the 2002-03 financial year, in this respect, contained that “Wapda remained adamant to not transferring the net hydel profit on pro-rata basis as in the past (up to 1997-98 financial year),” adding that “it did not comply the directive of the Chief Executive of Pakistan to transfer hydel profits on quarterly basis without linking it with the receivables (recoveries) from NWFP and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).”

The provincial government, in its budget documents, has apprehended that given the issue is not resolved it would be having a negative impact on the finances of the newly formed district governments.

“If some institutional arrangements are not crystallized between the three parties, i.e. government of NWFP, federal government and Wapda to resolve this issue on permanent basis, the financial squeeze is expected to extend to the district governments during the next financial year causing serious blow to devolution,” contains the budget documents of the provincial government.

The provincial government is also apprehending that the financial crisis it has been going through for the last several years as a result of unilateral capping of its net hydel profit share by Wapda would render it to compromising its annual development programme in the years to come.

In this respect the budget document contains: “The provincial government also needs to resolve the issue of ‘capping’ at the earliest as the resources of the province are declining against the rising expenditure. In case, resolution of the issues is deferred further, it will compromise the entire development programme of the province.”