PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Tourism Department has failed to utilise development funds allocated for projects under the annual development programme for fiscal year 2022-23.
The provincial government had allocated Rs8.3bln for various projects of the Tourism Department under the annual development program for the fiscal year 2022-23, aimed at promotion tourism in the province.
Out of the total amount, the Finance Department released Rs5.3bln for these projects. The Tourism Department, from the released funds, can spend 2.6 billion rupees within a year, while the remaining funds were returned to the Finance Department.
The Tourism Department, as per sources, had initially been assigned over 3.5 billion rupees in the annual development program for the integrated tourism project. This included more than 1.5 billion rupees for the Swat and Dir Development Authorities, while 50 million rupees were designated for the Galiyat Development Authority.
Before this, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province employed around 50 individuals in the Tourism Corporation, annually organizing events at tourist sites to promote tourism. However, due to the establishment of the tourism department, there is a significant increase in staff, such events are now less frequent, resulting in decreased fund utilization.
Sources reveal that the previous government, grappling with a financial crisis, failed to timely allocate funds for annual development projects. Additionally, lack of interest from departments led to the projects facing setbacks due to poor fund utilization.
