QUETTA, April 21: The Balochistan government has opposed the Punjab government’s proposal for the continuation of the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award for another year so that the provinces could determine the new award.

Syed Ehsan Shah, provincial finance minister, told newsmen on Monday that the federal government had accepted increase in the federating unit’s share and in the next NFC Award the provinces would get 40 per cent from the federal divisible pool instead of the existing 37.5 per cent.

Replying to a question, the finance minister categorically declared that the Balochistan government was not ready to accept Punjab’s suggestion of an interim award or to continue the existing award for another year.

He further said that the existing award did not fulfil requirements of the Balochistan province in the heads of expenditure and development activities.

Mr Shah stressed that the new NFC award should be announced prior to the coming budget so that provincial governments could plan their development projects for the financial year 2003-04 in accordance with available resources.

The minister did not agree with the Punjab government perception that the province would suffer in allocation of resources due to decrease of population in the census of 1998, and maintained that Balochistan also confronted with the same problem as the total population of the province could not be included in the census in view of the boycott in the northern areas by the people on the call of a political party.

He said the federal government had emphasized that increase of 2.5 per cent share of the provinces in the federal divisible pool should be utilized for strengthening the district government system in the provinces.

Responding to another question regarding 15 per cent General Sales Tax (GST) allocated for the district governments, the finance minister stated that this percentage for the district governments would continue.