PESHAWAR, May 9: The federal government has released around Rs408m to the NWFP for the development works to be carried out under the donor-assisted drought emergency relief assistance (DERA) programme, according to official sources.
The federal government had set aside Rs10bn in its public sector development programme for the 2001-02 financial year to carry out development schemes to offset the impact of drought on areas hit by this weather’s vagary.
The Rs10bn was to be distributed among the provinces in line with the federal government’s strategy to revive the agrarian economy and promote sustainable use of water resources in the drought-stricken areas.
According to the plan, Balochistan and Sindh were to get 30 per cent of the allocation or Rs3bn each out of the total amount.
The shares of Punjab and the NWFP have been calculated at Rs2.5bn and Rs1.5bn, respectively.
Official sources told Dawn that the NWFP had so far received a total of Rs408m from the federal government in two instalments of Rs270m and Rs136m deposited in the provincial government’s account number one.
In spite of the fact that the federal government had released over Rs400m to the provincial government, actual implementation on development schemes meant to counter drought could not be started yet in the province.
Physical implementation on the DERA-related projects is about to start. But there is no escaping from the routine procedural delays and complex process that precede execution on works, said the sources.
It was on March 15 last when the provincial government’s ministerial committee accorded approval to the multi-sectoral development schemes to be carried out in the drought-affected parts of the province under the World Bank- and Asian Development Bank-funded DERA — also cosponsored by the government of Pakistan —, official documents show.
Large parts in the 12 districts of the NWFP, including a majority of the rain-fed areas, got seriously affected due to a prolonged spell of drought.
The NWFP districts falling under the DERA projects include Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Karak, Kohat, Buner, Dir (lower), Dir (upper), Chitral, Kohistan and Haripur.