Due share: K-P gets first chunk of NHP

Rs25b of Rs70b paid by Centre through cheque

PESHAWAR: The provincial government has received its much-awaited share of Rs25 billion in the net hydel profit (NHP) arrears from the federal government.

Officials of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government dealing with the subject said the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) handed over a cheque of Rs25 billion to the government on Thursday evening.

The money paid by the Centre is the first tranche of the agreed Rs70 billion in NHP arrears. The figure had been decided under an agreement signed between the Centre and the province on February 25 in Islamabad.

The agreement ended the decade-long struggle of the K-P government to get its share in the NHP.

As per the agreement, the K-P government and Centre settled their arrears and the province will be paid Rs70 billion. A chunk of Rs25 billion has been received in the current financial year, while the remaining amount will be provided in three yearly installments of Rs15 billion each.

The K-P delegation for negotiations was led by Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and included provincial ministers and secretaries. Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Finance Mohammad Ishaq Dar and Minister for Defence Khwaja Mohammad Asif represented the government.



The federal government will pay Rs15 billion under the agreement as the current year’s installment.

Following the agreement, the finance department was desperately waiting for the money to be transferred from the Centre. However, the latter took its time and handed over the dues on the last day of FY 2015-16.

“They (the federal government) were trying to further delay the cheque and had dispatched it through a courier service on June 30 so it reaches us on July 1, in the new fiscal year,” said a senior government official close to the development.

He added the K-P Secretary for Finance Ali Raza Bhutta took up the matter with his federal counterpart, Waqar Masood, and asked for another cheque.

“A representative of Bank of Khyber then went to Wapda House in Lahore and personally collected the cheque and submitted it for clearance,” the official said.

He added the cheque was of the State Bank and the money would reach the K-P government’s account by evening.

Officials said the province desperately needed the money for run its business and the ongoing development projects.

“The finance department slowed releases for developmental projects due to restrains and the delay in the transfer of the profit was one of the causes of this crunch,” said another government official.

The finance department came under fire in the K-P Assembly for delaying releases or stopping them altogether in 2015-16. As a result, the completion of schemes was adversely affected

“We would have had no money for the salaries of employees had the finance secretary had not delayed or stopped funds releases,” the official said.

In its desperation, the K-P government also borrowed Rs15 billion from the Energy Development Fund, formerly known as Hydel Development Fund (HDF), to run affairs. For this purpose, it made amendments in the HDF law to borrow the money.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 2^nd, 2016.