HYDERABAD, Nov 8: A huge amount of the funds of the district government, involving different heads, has not been revalidated by the finance department as yet despite the lapse of four months of this fiscal year, official sources told this correspondent on Friday.
It was, however, learnt that out of the Rs82.58 million of sugar cess for the year 2002-03, an amount of Rs40 million has been revalidated but this is yet to be brought on record because an official communication by the finance department is still awaited.
Sources said that the district Nazim, Dr Makhdoom Rafiquzzaman, and DCO Mohammad Hussain Syed would take up the matter of ADP funds of Rs140 million with the Sindh chief minister and chief secretary as this amount has yet to be re-appropriated by the finance department after having lapsed last year.
After the execution of development works to be carried out through ADP funds was delayed, the district government adjusted this amount from its savings in different non-salary components in September and had sought approval from the district council to this effect to avoid legal hitches.
The re-appropriation of this amount is to be made so that these could be kept in the non-salary components.
Efforts are, however, also going on to get amounts of other heads revalidated.
On Sept 12, the district council was officially informed that an amount of Rs665.30 million of different heads of district government had lapsed last fiscal year.
Sources claimed that liabilities of TA/DA of district council members would be cleared soon.
For the development works, the finance department of the district government had also borrowed money from the Octroi and Zila Tax share of Rs600 million.
According to a break-up of funds of the Rs250 million of the Hyderabad Development Package, Rs240.93 million had lapsed on June 30. Likewise, Rs85.17 million out of Rs95 million of some schemes of the Hyderabad Development Authority had lapsed because the authorized letter from the accountant general, Sindh, was issued after a delay of 10 months. Only an amount of Rs2.33 million was utilized on the schemes.
Of Rs151 million of the ADP, Rs140.27 million lapsed as only Rs10.73 could be utilized after the authority was given by the accountant general branch quite late, i.e. on June 25, and that too after protest by the district council members.
Under the Khushhal Pakistan Programme-III, Rs23.43 million lapsed out of an allocation of Rs270.97 million as Rs247.54 million were spent. Of Rs82.40 million allocated on Jan 22 for KPP-IV, Rs76.49 million lapsed.
As far as the head of sugar cess is concerned, funds of Rs208.24 million were allocated in 2002 and released on April 29, 2002. Only Rs125.66 million were utilized and Rs82.58 million lapsed. An amount of Rs16.43 million of transition funds had also lapsed out of an allocation of Rs29 million and Rs12.57 million were utilized.