PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government failed to fund 28 development projects of the Industries department under the ADP [Annual Development Program] in the tribal belt because of the ongoing financial crisis.
The provincial government has allocated Rs1.3bn for projects of the industry department in seven tribal districts in the ADP of the current financial year, of which the department has only utilises just Rs216mn in the first quarter of the year.
The KP government had included 50 ongoing and new projects for the department in the ADP of which no funds could be released for two of the three projects of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zones Development and Management Company (KPEZMDC). Similarly, no fund was released for the other three projects of the industry department included in the ADP. The documents show that three projects launched under the Public-Private Partnership (PPPs) were also not provided funds.
According to documents of the provincial finance department, the provincial government also could not release any fund to 16 out of seventeen projects of the Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA), while fund could only be provided to one project.
Sources in the KP Finance Department said these projects were launched under the Accelerated Implementation Programme (AIP) which also includes Insaf Rozgar Scheme, Economic Zones in tribal Districts, Free Microfinance Scheme, and development of small Industry in the tribal belt, for which most of funds were released by the federal government.
According to sources, the provincial government was supposed to release funds to most of these schemes, but the federal government has stopped funds transfer to the province as a result it is facing severe financial crisis. Acting Governor and Speaker KP Assembly, Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani, has made it clear that the financial situation of the province is deteriorating since the federal government has stopped funding to the province.
Sources of the Planning and Development (P&D) Department said that currently more than 70% of projects included in the ADP of the province have been stopped. The sources said that because of financial difficulties most of important schemes have been excluded from the current ADP of the province.
