PESHAWAR, Sept 30: The NWFP government is facing increasing revenue shortfall under the head of net hydel profit due to non-payment of its due share by the Water and Power Development Authority, official sources told Dawn.

Despite passage of first three months of the current financial year, Wapda has not yet started releasing funds to the NWFP against its share.

“The province has started experiencing budgetary imbalances due to non-payment of funds,” said the sources.

Though in the current financial year’s budget documents, the provincial government has made a claim of over Rs15.9 billion as the province’s share in the net hydel profit, it is not likely to get any thing beyond Rs6 billion due to a lingering dispute between the provincial government and Wapda.

Under a recently sent official communique to Wapda, the provincial government has asked it to pay its share. However, the power authority has not responded to any of its reminders sent to its chief Zulfiqar Ali Khan.

The sources said the provincial finance managers had asked for payment of funds in accordance with the Rs15.9 billion annual share calculated in the light of the current National Finance Commission award.

“The provincial government has not asked for one billion rupees as share for the first two months of the current financial year on proportionate basis, rather it has laid claim to payment in accordance with its own determined Rs15.9 billion annual share,” said senior government functionaries.

Before the induction of army into Wapda, the provincial government used to get net hydel profit share on monthly basis — Rs500 million per month out of the Rs6 billion annual capped share amount.

“Eversince, the management of Wapda got changed, the province started recording financial problems due to non-payment of its share in due course of time,” said the sources.

During the last financial year, the provincial government received over Rs4 billion shortly before the closure of financial year on June 30.

The provincial government, said the sources, had recently released 40 per cent of the annual funds to enable the 24 district governments to pay salaries to its employees.

Similarly, said the sources, funds had also been put at the disposal of the district governments to help them meet development expenditures.

“Under these circumstances when the province has released a large amount to the district governments, non-payment of net hydel profit would shortly start posing difficulties to the provincial finances,” said the sources.