ISLAMABAD, Oct 25: A number of important government functionaries had developed differences with the former chairman of National Reconstruction Bureau, Gen Tanvir Naqvi, over the formulation of new National Finance Commission (NFC) award that led to his resignation.

Informed sources told Dawn on Friday that the new distribution formula under the 6th NFC award proposed by Gen Naqvi was not acceptable to higher authorities, including those sitting in the Ministry of Finance.

The former NRB chief had done a lot of hard work to introduce the new NFC award. He had also been interacting with all the stakeholders, including the federal authorities and the four provinces.

Gen Naqvi resigned from his post on Wednesday but was asked by President Pervez Musharraf to continue to work during the transition period.

Ever since the government introduced devolution plan specially to transfer administrative and financial powers directly from centre to the district governments, Gen Naqvi was devoting much of his time to carve out a better resource distribution formula. He is believed to have proposed a number of changes to transfer financial powers to the district governments which were otherwise being resisted.

“One of the main reasons for Gen Naqvi’s resignation was his reservations over the new resource distribution formula under the new NFC award,” a senior government official said.

He said the former NRB chairman also wanted the announcement of the 6th NFC award by the Musharraf administration which has now been left to the future government.

When contacted by Dawn, Tanvir Naqvi said there must be a broad-based distribution formula which should be acceptable to all the four provinces.

When asked whether his resignation had anything to do with his reported differences over the NFC award, he said: “Disagreement is root to progress and everybody has the right to have his own opinion on any issue.”

He said he was heading an organization which was working on many important issues.