Rs500b promise for NMDs goes unmet

Record shows Centre gave K-P just Rs87b in 5 years

PESHAWAR:

Despite the promises made during the merger of ex-FATA into Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), the federal government has failed to provide the committed Rs100 billion per year package for the development of the tribal districts.

According to documents obtained by The Express Tribune, K-P received only Rs87 billion out of the promised Rs500 billion fund over the past five years.

Under the 25th amendment, the federal government had pledged to provide Rs100 billion annually for the rapid development of the tribal districts after their merger into K-P.

The merger was approved by the provincial assembly, and all the tribal agencies were declared as districts and merged into adjacent divisions. Frontier regions (FR) were also incorporated into nearby districts.

The parliament, in its sitting on March 2, 2017, decided that the Centre would provide Rs100 billion per year to bring the tribal districts at par with the rest of the country.

Additionally, the newly merged districts were exempted from taxes for five years, which was extended for another year by the federal government.

However, the federal government did not fulfill its promise of providing Rs100 billion annually and released only Rs87 billion in five years.

The remaining Rs413 billion is still pending. Due to the lack of funds, the K-P government has been unable to initiate development projects in the merged districts.

The K-P government has also demanded an increased share under the National Finance Commission (NFC) on the grounds that the population of the province has increased since the merger of the erstwhile FATA.

The province is seeking Rs213 billion in additional funds from the Centre. It is expected that the caretaker government will call a meeting of the NFC soon after the provincial budget to discuss this matter.

The finance department official stated that there has been a population increase after the merger, and K-P’s share should be increased to 19.64 percent, reflecting a 5.1 percent increase.

The province is preparing a case in this regard, seeking a higher percentage of the NFC share.

Currently, K-P’s share is fixed at 14.63 percent under the seventh NFC award, considering the province’s population and other factors.

Furthermore, K-P is also paid one percent of the national resources annually due to the impact of terrorism.

However, despite the merger, the financial resources allocated to the newly merged tribal districts were not provided to K-P. Consequently, K-P has been burdened with the responsibility of funding the expenses of these newly incorporated tribal districts using its already limited resources.

The unfulfilled promise of providing the committed funds for the development of the tribal districts in K-P has hindered the progress and caused financial strain. The inadequate allocation of funds has impeded vital development projects and the provision of essential services.

The K-P government’s demand for an increased share under the NFC highlights the urgent need for adequate resources to meet the challenges of development and uplift the lives of the people in the merged tribal districts.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19^th, 2023.