Development projects to get Rs418bn in next financial year.

PESHAWAR -- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa finance minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra on Monday unveiled the Rs418 billion annual development programme (ADP) for the upcoming financial year.

The 2022-23 development projects will be funded by the provincial government, donors as well as the federal government under the Public Sector Development Programme.

The development outlay also includes a share forlocal governments.

According to the budget documents formally released by the government in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Rs275.7 billion of the proposed development programme has allocated for the entire province, including Rs90.7 billion for tribal districts. A large chunk of Rs93.2 billion will be added to the development portfolio through foreign assistance, including Rs4.3 billion for tribal districts.

Also, the total development programme consists of Rs41 billion share for the two- tier local government system, including Rs4 billion for local governments in tribal areas.

Outlay includes Rs34.6 billion funds to be provided by other provinces for tribal districts

The budget documents reveal that Rs8.3 billion was also part of the development outlay to be provided by the federal government under PSDP.

The total Rs418 billion development programme also include an 'unfunded' portion of Rs34.6 billion from other provinces.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has never received in the previous few years this 'unfunded portion' for the development of erstwhile Fata as three per cent of the NFC share from other provinces.

With the deduction of 'unfunded' share of other provinces from the total worth of ADP, the reflected ADP budget reduces from Rs418 billion to Rs383 billion.

Curiously, an unfunded portion of AIP amounting to Rs34.6 billion was time and again reflected in the budget. Breakdown of unfunded AIP shows Punjab would chip in Rs21 billion, Sindh Rs10 billion and Balochistan Rs3.6 billion of three per cent share of the NFC.

In reality, other provinces have thus far not provided even a single penny of their committed share for merged areas but some have also opposed it.

The budget documents show that Rs221.2 billion would be utilised on the execution of 1,710 ongoing schemes while Rs60.7 billion have been allocated for 529 newly reflected schemes.

Of the 34 provincial...