Contradicting all claims: Social welfare funding reduced for 2016-17

In outgoing year sector got Rs0.52b this time it has been given Rs0.46b

PESHAWAR: Although speculation was abuzz that emphasis would be laid on social work, it did not reflect in the Annual Development Programme allocation. Funds for the social welfare department were slashed by almost 10% for FY2016-17 compared to the outgoing year.

Last year, Rs0.52 billion were at its disposal, but the figure was reduced to Rs0.46 billion this time around.

A senior official of the social welfare department, requesting anonymity, told The Express Tribune the department sent a draft of Rs0.47 billion to the provincial government, but it reduced the amount to Rs0.46 billion.

“The allocation is meager for a province where thousands of people are living in [miserable] conditions,” he said. “This shows how trivial the situation is for the K-P government.”

He added a meeting was held with the secretaries in which the government asked them to lower expenditures otherwise the budget would not meet the needs of any department due to resource constraints.”

Picked and chosen?

If the social welfare budget in ADP is critically analysed, it would not be wrong to say the whole budget revolves around four districts of K-P. These are Lower Dir, Charsadda, Nowshera and Mardan.



The allocations could make sense considering Minister for Finance Muzaffar Said represents Lower Dir, Minister for Social Welfare Sikandar Sherpao is from Charsadda, Chief Minister Pervez Khattak belongs to Nowshera while Minitser for Elementary Education Muhammad Atif Khan is from Mardan.

However, although it is the third year as a senior minister for Sherpao, not much seems to have been planned for the welfare of society.

Handful divided

As per the white paper, Rs0.46 billion are allocated for 27 projects out of which 18 are ongoing. New projects have Rs0.19 billion to their disposal, while the remainder would be used for ongoing schemes.

Of the nine new projects, special focus is given to children’s education. Special education institutes across the province will be upgraded from primary to secondary level.

These institutes will include National Special Education Centre Mardan and a school in Charsadda for those with visual disabilities. Besides, land would be purchased to upgrade a school in Timergara, Lower Dir for those with hearing impairments.

Also, an institute for capacity building of teachers in the field of special education, a special education complex in Chakdara, Lower Dir, a social wefare complex in Nowshera and an addiction rehabilitation centre in Peshawar are part of the ongoing schemes.

However, it is sad to see that no new project would be initiated to curb violence against women or for their education and business growth.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18^th, 2016.