ISLAMABAD, March 18: The National Reconstruction Bureau on Monday finalized the decentralization of financial power plan for the distribution of funds among the district governments and tehsil councils from the next fiscal year.

The wrap up meeting of decentralization of financial powers held at the Chief Executive Secretariat was attended by the finance ministers of all the four provinces.

The meeting gave final touches to the mechanism which would ensure release of development funds to the tehsil councils through the provincial government.

“Under the new mechanism tehsil council will get funds as a matter or right and not as a charity,” a member of the NRB told Dawn on the request of anonymity.

He said that the finance ministry as well as the provincial governments had reservations over the new mechanism for the release of funds to the district governments and tehsil council. These objections had been over ruled by the government, which in its devolution of plan had assured to grant financial autonomy to the district governments.

Besides ensuring the release of funds to the local government institutions, he said, a system of check and balances would also be put in place to ensure optimum utilization of funds and plug leakages and pilferage.

The district governments would also discuss and approve their respective development budgets and similarly tehsil councils would also approve their budgets.

There budgets would also be audited by their developmental schemes would be approved by bodies like central development working party (CDWP), the source said.