Grass-root empowerment : Huge portion of budget goes to districts

Total budget of over Rs168b with nearly 34b going to ADP for districts .

PESHAWAR: Following through on its agenda of devolving powers to the grass-root level, the Khyber–Pakhtunkhwa government earmarked a lion’s share of its total budget for districts and their development. A total budget of Rs168.6 billion was set aside with nearly Rs34 billion going to the ADP for districts.

The financial bill for FY 2016-17 was presented by Minister for Finance Muzaffar Said in the provincial assembly. The budget has a total outlay of Rs505 billion, of which Rs161 billion was earmarked for the Annual Development Program (ADP).

In his budget speech, the minister stated a total of Rs28.2 billion would initially be provided to districts as a development grant, while Rs5.7 billion would be given later on based on the availability of funds with the provincial government.

Out of the total Rs168.641 grant for districts, Rs112.585 was set aside for salaries of local government employees, while Rs17.440 billion would go to non-salary expenses. Moreover, Rs4.71 billion was allocated as a grant to local councils.

Of the funds earmarked for the district ADP, an amount of Rs11.7 billion was set aside for ongoing devolved projects.

The budget documents stated out of the total district ADP, Rs13.1 billion would be provided to village and union councils, while Rs10.4 billion would go each to the tehsil and district councils across the province.



Similarly, Muzaffar Said stated Rs6 billion was allocated for the local government to generate revenue and optimally utilise available resources. A total of 36 projects were proposed in the district ADP, out of which 24 are ongoing.

The proposed development investment for cities included the construction of a new bus stand in Peshawar, special initiative program for Mardan, special package for development initiatives in K-P, priority projects in the province, district development initiatives and uplift and development of hill stations in Malakand.

A total of Rs1.43 billion was allocated for 49 development projects, ongoing and new, across the city. The finance bill stated a tehsil office would be constructed in the city. A review report and master plan would be prepared for the construction of a multiplex in Khyber Bazar.

Other developmental projects proposed in the budget included the construction of a deputy commissioner’s office in Malakand and the Nishtarabad Commercial Complex.

Similarly, Said stated various development projects will be undertaken in the upcoming financial year to improve urban infrastructure. He said Rs5.55 billion was made available for a total of 27 projects out of which 24 are ongoing with an allocation of Rs5.52 billion. The amount set aside for the new projects is Rs0.03 billion.

The projects proposed for development of urban infrastructure of the provincial capital include upgrading radial roads leading to Ring Road, rehabilitation and improvement of urban and branch roads and construction of a northern section of Ring Road (missing link) from Pajjagi Road to Warsak Road.

Other projects which were part of the budget for Peshawar were the Safe City Hayatabad project, uplift and beautification of divisional headquarters in K-P, internal roads rehabilitation project, installation of LED lights on various urban roads and construction of u-turns and flyovers on Ring Road. Finally, funds were allocated for the construction of a service road on both sides of the path leading from Ring Road Hayatabad Toll plaza to main GT Road.

For Chitral, the construction of a local government complex was made part of the plan.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 15^th, 2016.