Planning loopholes: Throw-forward liability to affect development in K-P
Officials of P&D dept say problem will persist if govt adds more schemes in ADP
Another official of the department said the throw-forward liability has increased in the current government because it has been pushing to add new schemes into the ADP. PHOTO: EXPRESS/ FILE
PESHAWAR:
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government’s throw-forward liability — funds needed to complete its existing development projects — has increased by 35% this year compared to 2015-16.
The government Annual Development Programme (ADP) for the current and the previous years show the throw-forward liability in the current fiscal year, 2016-17, has reached Rs491 billion compared to Rs319 billion from 2015-16 – a sharp increase of Rs172 billion.
While the PTI-led K-P government has prioritised health and education, a sector-wise breakdown shows the road sector has the biggest throw-forward with Rs97.9 billion, followed by the water sector at Rs88.4 billion.
Elementary and secondary education has a Rs53.6 billion throw-forward, while health has Rs50.6 billion. The urban development sector has Rs32 billion, drinking water and sanitation sector has Rs23 billion and higher education and housing sectors have Rs20 billion each.
Inadequate allotment, more schemes
The current ADP comprises 1,516 development schemes with a completion cost of Rs829 billion. This includes 1,199 ongoing schemes carried forward from previous years which actually cost Rs552 billion. However, only Rs65 billion have been allocated to them. The programme also includes 255 new schemes which cost Rs210 billion, but only Rs23 billion have been earmarked for them in ADP 2016-17.
According to K-P Planning and Development (P&D) Department officials, a huge throw-forward will affect the completion of schemes as they fear the coming government may not be led by PTI and therefore could have different priorities.
“The project completion time, which was up to two years, has reached approximately 3.9 years,” an official of the P&D department said, requesting anonymity. He told The Express Tribune that schemes were getting more than five years old, which is not good.
“Since the total ADP for the current year is Rs125 billion (local component), the government will need 3.9 years to complete the existing development projects with this allocation each year.”
He also said the throw-forward will be higher next year as the government will add more new schemes to the ADP, but with nominal allocations the schemes will then run for five years.
“The change or positive impact a development scheme is expected to give fades away when it is delayed by three to four years due to lack of funds,” the official said. He added the delay not only reduces development benefits, but also escalates cost as prices of material increase.
“The government should have focused on completing existing schemes rather than filling the ADP book with long-running new schemes,” he stressed.
Another official of the department said the throw-forward liability has increased in the current government because it has been pushing to add new schemes into the ADP. “In 2014-15, the throw-forward was Rs230.5 billion, in 2015-16, it reached Rs330 billion and now it is Rs491 billion,” the official concluded.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 5th, 2016.
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government’s throw-forward liability — funds needed to complete its existing development projects — has increased by 35% this year compared to 2015-16.
The government Annual Development Programme (ADP) for the current and the previous years show the throw-forward liability in the current fiscal year, 2016-17, has reached Rs491 billion compared to Rs319 billion from 2015-16 – a sharp increase of Rs172 billion.
While the PTI-led K-P government has prioritised health and education, a sector-wise breakdown shows the road sector has the biggest throw-forward with Rs97.9 billion, followed by the water sector at Rs88.4 billion.
Elementary and secondary education has a Rs53.6 billion throw-forward, while health has Rs50.6 billion. The urban development sector has Rs32 billion, drinking water and sanitation sector has Rs23 billion and higher education and housing sectors have Rs20 billion each.
Inadequate allotment, more schemes
The current ADP comprises 1,516 development schemes with a completion cost of Rs829 billion. This includes 1,199 ongoing schemes carried forward from previous years which actually cost Rs552 billion. However, only Rs65 billion have been allocated to them. The programme also includes 255 new schemes which cost Rs210 billion, but only Rs23 billion have been earmarked for them in ADP 2016-17.
According to K-P Planning and Development (P&D) Department officials, a huge throw-forward will affect the completion of schemes as they fear the coming government may not be led by PTI and therefore could have different priorities.
“The project completion time, which was up to two years, has reached approximately 3.9 years,” an official of the P&D department said, requesting anonymity. He told The Express Tribune that schemes were getting more than five years old, which is not good.
“Since the total ADP for the current year is Rs125 billion (local component), the government will need 3.9 years to complete the existing development projects with this allocation each year.”
He also said the throw-forward will be higher next year as the government will add more new schemes to the ADP, but with nominal allocations the schemes will then run for five years.
“The change or positive impact a development scheme is expected to give fades away when it is delayed by three to four years due to lack of funds,” the official said. He added the delay not only reduces development benefits, but also escalates cost as prices of material increase.
“The government should have focused on completing existing schemes rather than filling the ADP book with long-running new schemes,” he stressed.
Another official of the department said the throw-forward liability has increased in the current government because it has been pushing to add new schemes into the ADP. “In 2014-15, the throw-forward was Rs230.5 billion, in 2015-16, it reached Rs330 billion and now it is Rs491 billion,” the official concluded.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 5th, 2016.