KARAK, Jan 22: More than Rs6 million development budget of Citizen Community Boards (CCB) for the year 2011-12 in the district is still lying unutilised, according to sources.

Sources in the social welfare department said that the amount of Rs6.3 million, meant for carrying out different schemes in sanitation, water supply, health and education sectors, was not released to CCBs.

They said that 350 CCBs in the district had applied for getting funds after depositing 20 per cent of the total cost of the uplift schemes as call deposits. The budget development committee had already short listed CCBs on the recommendations of the elected representatives for executing development projects, they added.

Sources said that provincial local government secretary had also approved the schemes but a change in local government system created hurdles in utilisation of the funds.

They said that many office-bearers of CCBs had withdrawn their call deposits after unnecessary delay in release of funds and recommendations by the elected representatives for approval of any scheme. They said that about 97 CCBs were short listed for execution of projects after thorough scrutiny but the schemes were not approved.

The office-bearers of different CCBs said that the approval should be granted without further delay to utilise the development funds. They said that they would not be able to execute any scheme with the allotted funds owing to inflation and increase in prices of various items.

They also said that fund for each scheme should be increased according to inflation rate. The social welfare officer, Rizwan Khattk, when contacted, said that situation was not clear as the local government system had been changed. “Now the deputy commissioner can’t approve development schemes owing to unclear situation,” he added.

Mr Khattak said that in the old local government system, district coordination officers would approve schemes.

He said that he had suggested that the budget should be merged with that of year 2012 and 2013 to increase funds for each CCB.