PESHAWAR, Aug 15: The Civil Secretariat, Fata, will need Rs28.94 billion and more than five years to complete the development projects mentioned in the Annual Development Programme (ADP) for 2007-08.
Calculations made on the basis of information provided in the current ADP show that the existing development projects carry an estimated cost of Rs49.85 billion of which an amount of Rs8.62 billion was spent by the financial year 2006 and Rs5.20 billion by the end of June 2007.
The government has earmarked Rs6.60 billion for financial year 2007-08, leaving an amount of Rs28.94 billion as overall liabilities brought forward for the current ADP.
According to the planners, the overall size of the ‘throw forward liabilities’ is more than the standard amount in such cases. The officials attribute lack of capacity of the implementing agencies as the major reason for the growing size of the ‘throw forward liabilities’.
According to officials, another major hurdle in the execution and completion of development projects in the tribal areas, particularly in North and South Waziristan agencies, was the prevailing fragile security environment there. In some pockets of the troubled regions the officials concerned could not inspect development schemes and had to rely on local contractors for crucial information, they said.
Sector-wise details of the ADP show that the biggest ‘throw forward liability’ is in the communications sector, which carries projects worth Rs11.14 billion. The agencies spent Rs1.65 billion and Rs1.08 billion in 2006 and 2007 respectively, whereas an amount of Rs1.91 billion has been set aside for the current fiscal year for this sector. The total ‘throw forward liability’ in this sector is more than Rs6.40 billion.
The official document shows that the education sector carries a total of Rs 3.67 billion in ‘throw forward liabilities’. The total cost of the new and ongoing schemes in the education sector in the current ADP for Fata has been estimated at Rs7.54 billion.
An amount of Rs1.38 billion was spent in 2006 and Rs1.08 billion in 2007. For regional development, the Civil Secretariat, Fata has shown the total cost at Rs 10.94 billion for the year 2007-08, of which the authorities could spend Rs410.38 million in the year 2006-07 and is supposed to utilise Rs 466.44 million in the current ADP. The ‘throw forward liabilities’ in the current ADP have been projected at Rs9.16 billion.
In the health sector, authorities could utilise only Rs1.08 billion in the year 2006-07 and the ‘throw forward liabilities’ had been shown as Rs1.99 billion. Estimated expenditure for the current financial year has been projected at Rs1.39 billion in the ADP document.
Like last year, South and North Waziristan agencies have received the major chunk of the current ADP. South Waziristan has been allocated Rs1 billion for development projects whereas the North Waziristan Agency will get Rs759.54 million from the current ADP.
In the ADP, Rs622.22 million has been earmarked for Bajaur, Rs502.28 million for Mohmand, Rs707.34 million for Khyber, Rs702.99 million for Kurram and Rs337.50 million for Orakzai Agency.
The sector-wise allocation of the ADP for the year 2007-08 is as follows: Rs1.98 billion for communications sector (which is 28.93 per cent of the total), Rs1.39 billion for education, Rs708.07 million for health, Rs186.91 million for agriculture, Rs 507.17 million for public health engineering, Rs466.44 million for regional development, Rs119.11 million for rural development, Rs531.45 million for irrigation and Rs81.71 million for housing.