PESHAWAR, Sept 20: Nine per cent annual growth rate is being envisaged for the provincial governments’ current revenue expenditure (CRE) under the 6th National Finance Commission (NFC) award, according to sources.

However, before being allowed to use the option from the 2003- 04 financial year, the provincial governments, said the sources, would need to reduce their CRE by four per cent during the current financial year.

“The CRE figure, that arrived at the close of the current financial year — after exercising four per cent reduction — would form the benchmark for each of the provincial government,” said the sources.

The nine per cent growth rate would be permissible over and above the benchmark of CRE every province would settle at on June 30, 2003, said the sources.

The CRE growth rate at 9 per cent, said the sources, would require extra effort on the part of the Sindh government whose CRE was registering growth at over 16 per cent every year.

Though the provincial governments’ CRE did not grow during the last five years in accordance with the separate projections reflected for each of the provinces under the 5th NFC award, Sindh registered highest growth rate in its current expenditure followed by Punjab with around 11 per cent, Balochistan 10 per cent and NWFP recorded the lowest growth rate of nine per cent.

Cumulative growth rate of the provincial governments’ CRE, said the sources, stood at slightly over 12 per cent, apparently, much less than the upper limits set by the current NFC.

According to the sources, in case of NWFP and Balochistan the persistent financial crisis experienced throughout the five years operations of the NFC did not let them to spend freely rendering negative impact on the provincial governments in certain respects.

The sources appeared to be of the view that the CRE growth rate being determined for the next five years would require the future government in Sindh to make serious effort for bringing down the provincial government’s current revenue expenditure.