Double the perks: DDAC chairpersons allocated Rs4.14m each under budget

Govt releases break-up of budget for district committees in response to JUI-F lawmaker .

PESHAWAR:

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government made hefty allocations of Rs103.5 million to the chairpersons of 25 district development advisory committees (DDAC) across the province for the year 2013-14. Some of these chairpersons hold the office of advisers, special assistants as well as ministers, receiving perks and benefits from those as well, according to one lawmaker.

The break-up of the funds was submitted to the K-P Assembly by the province’s Local Government and Rural Development department after Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) lawmaker from PK-79, Buner-3 Mufti Fazl Ghafoor raised the question on Monday.



The government’s reply stated it had set up DDAC in each district to oversee development projects and each committee is headed by a chairperson. The chairperson is a member of the provincial assembly.

The response of the department reveals Rs4.14 million had been allocated to the chairperson of each DDAC.

The allocations had been made under different heads, ranging from sumptuary allowance, telephone, petroleum, oil and lubricants (POL), entertainment and gifts, newspapers, periodicals and books besides others. The reply acknowledges that chairpersons of these DDACs were getting various facilities, including fuel and phone facility.

The supporting documents of the budget provision dated December 24, 2013 from the finance department showed an allocation of the same amount of Rs4.14 million to all 25 districts, totalling Rs103.5 million for the entire province.

Individual breakdown

The break-up of funds for each DDAC chairperson provided by the finance department shows that an amount of Rs0.12 million had been allocated for sumptuary allowance, Rs0.3 million for telephone and trunk calls, Rs0.6 million for POL, Rs0.15 million for stationary, Rs0.18 million for printing and publications, and Rs0.2 million for newspapers, periodicals and books.

In addition an allocation of Rs0.19 million had been made towards advertisements and publicity, Rs0.5 million for other expenditures, Rs0.6 million for entertainment and gifts, Rs0.4 million for purchase of plant and machinery, Rs0.3 million for furniture and fixture, Rs0.4 million for transport, Rs0.1 million for machinery and equipment and Rs0.1 million for the repair of office equipment.

Double the fun

Ghafoor told The Express Tribune, “It is an injustice to the people of the province as they remain deprived of basic facilities while the chairpersons of these committees receive lakhs for travelling, entertainment and purchasing gifts.”

He added he submitted the question about the budget because some of the ministers, advisers and special assistants were enjoying the perks in their respective departments in Peshawar while at the same time using the facilities provided to them for being chairpersons of the committees. “A minister cannot hold office in Peshawar and be a committee chairperson at the same time.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2014.