PESHAWAR, Nov 4: The implementing agencies of NWFP government have utilised nearly eight per cent of the funds, within first three months of the current financial year, earmarked for the Annual Development Programme, indicating a slow-paced take off of the uplift activities in the province.

Statistics reviewed by NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti a few days ago showed that provincial departments could not perform well in the first quarter compared to the corresponding period of the last financial year, when the utilisation ratio was 12.6 per cent.

Officials at NWFP Planning and Development Department (P&DD), the main coordinating body for development programmes, said that usually financial year began with a slow pace of uplift activities, because fulfillment of formalities for new projects took some time.

“Utilisation ratio will improve by mid year and it will be well in line with the targets set at beginning of the current financial year,” said a planner at P&DD.

The statistics showed that except higher education and research and development component not a single new scheme, reflected in the current ADP, could be started during the first quarter.

The ANP-led coalition government had unveiled ADP worth Rs41.544 billion, which included Rs27.148 billion earmarked for the projects to be funded from the provincial resources, Rs4.617 billion for foreign-funded projects, Rs468 million for population welfare schemes, Rs1.218 billion for district ADP and Rs8.093 billion allocated as province’s share in the projects initiated by the federal government in NWFP.

The provincial core ADP contained total 837 uplift projects, out of which 308 were due for completion, whereas by end of Sept only one project was completed. Of the total 836 uplift schemes, 322 are not cleared by the competent forums before their execution.

Of the total Rs41.544 billion, the government had released Rs11.210 billion during the first three months, whereas total expenditures were reported at Rs3.652 billion, putting utilisation ratio at 8.8 per cent of the total allocation.

Programme-wise utilisation position showed that of the total Rs27.148 billion allocated for provincial core ADP, the finance department had released Rs8.831 billion, whereas actual utilisation stood at Rs2.566 billion, showing a drop of 8.3 per cent, if compared with the spending in the corresponding period of the last financial year.

Utilisation on foreign-funded projects, however, showed significant improvement, as against Rs4.617 billion allocation, Rs2.049 billion were released, whereas net spending by end of first quarter stood at Rs974.59 million, almost 15 per cent higher than the utilisation of corresponding period of the last financial year.

Of the total Rs1.218 billion allocated for the district ADP, the finance department had released Rs211.91 million by end of first quarter, whereas actual utilisation was reported at Rs33.01 million that was 2.7 per cent of the total allocation.