Pace of uplift funds release picks up.

ISLAMABAD -- The PlanAning Commission has quickened the pace of authorisation of funds for the Public Sector Development ProAgramme (PSDP) to meet requirements of the Public Finance Management Act introduced last year under covenants agreed with international lending agencies.

Data released by the commission on Friday put the total authorisation of funds for federal development projects at Rs320.24 billion, which comes to more than 49 per cent of the annual budget allocation of Rs650bn.

During the same period last year, the Planning Commission had authorised disbursement of Rs257bn, or 46.6pc of the annual allocation of Rs551bn.

Under an altered strategy, the commission has now excluded block allocations that used to be managed by the finance ministry or the Cabinet Division mostly for political reasons and shown as part of the PSDP.

As such, special projects for the districts of tribal region merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, resettlement of displaced persons and politically oriented funds for special development goals are no longer part of the PSDP because diversion of major part of these funds for security enhancement through technical supplementary grants used to generate political controversies.

Under the Public Finance Management Act, 2019 the finance ministry has now put in place a new strategy for release of funds for development projects. This requires the finance ministry to release development funds at the rate of 20pc in the first quarter and 30pc each in the second and third quarters of the fiscal year. The remaining 20pc is to be released in the last quarter.

The Planning Commission said it had authorised about 56.5pc (Rs207bn) of the total annual allocations for development projects under the federal ministries (Rs366bn). In comparison, total...