KP loses control over merged districts’ development funds

PESHAWAR: Bypassing the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, the federal government has formed a 10-member steering committee headed by the deputy chairman of the planning commission to spend billions of rupees worth of development funds in merged districts under the Accelerated Implementation Programme (AIP).

Earlier, the federal government formed the steering committee for the merged tribal districts’ development.

The steering committee had been formed under the “Prime Minister’s Programme for Integrated Tribal Districts” to identify development projects and the use of AIP funds in the merged districts.

A total of four MNAs and two MPs belonging to the merged districts, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor, the federal secretaries of planning and finance divisions, and the additional chief secretary of P&D Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been included in the 10-member steering committee.

According to the notification, 80 per cent of AIP funds will be used by the steering committee in the merged districts besides identifying development projects.

Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Adviser on Finance Muzamil Aslam told HUM News English that the KP government has expressed serious reservations over the said step of the federal government, while KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur also protested the move with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during the apex committee meeting.

He said that the AIP funds cannot be used directly by the federal government.

He said that the federal government has withheld Rs43 billion under the AIP, virtually stopping their disbursement from July last month, impacting the development process in the merged districts.

“The provincial government, on its part, was releasing AIP funds for the development projects,” he said, asking the federal government to immediately release AIP funds to the KP government.