ISLAMABAD, March 9: Provincial governments would submit on Monday their fiscal needs for 2003-04 and ask the Centre to release the remaining part of their current year’s share immediately, it is learnt.

Official sources said provinces wanted full payment of their remaining fiscal share in lump sum during the current month so that they could complete their schemes within the current financial year.

They said delayed payments and staggered releases would make it difficult for provincial agencies to utilize funds that would lapse on June 30.

Provincial governments would also submit their next fiscal year’s projections that would start the budget making process at federal and provincial levels.

They said the Centre would ask provincial governments to clear their utility bills immediately or it would be left with no option but to make at source deductions before it released their shares by March 31.

Public sector electricity arrears are currently the most troubled area for the federal government as Wapda dues alone now stand at Rs33 billion, disrupting Wapda’s financial improvement plan it has agreed with the IMF and the World Bank.

An official statement says a meeting on the issue, to be presided over by adviser to prime minister on finance Shaukat Aziz on Monday, will be attended by provincial finance ministers as well as the finance minister of Azad Kashmir.

The meeting will discuss economic situation and review implementation of development projects. It will discuss measures for speedy implementation of the government’s development efforts which emphasizes on poverty reduction strategy. The budgetary position of federal and provincial governments will be come up for discussion.

The statement says the meeting is likely to take up inter-provincial and federal-provincial financial issues for better coordination and to ensure optimal utilization of resources.