Khyber Pakhtunkhwa share in federal divisible pool to decline

The share of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in federal divisible pool is likely to decline by Rs 12 billion, alerting the provincial government to adopt strict financial discipline and cut in the non-development expenditure for the last six months of the current financial year 2010-11.
Briefing journalists here in the Conference Room of the Provincial Assembly, Minister for Information Iftikhar Hussein said that at the time of the announcement of the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, the share of the province from the federal divisible pool was estimated at Rs 121 billion. However, keeping in view the trend of the pace of the transfer of funds it is likely to decline by Rs 12 billion from the estimated amount.
The meeting of the provincial cabinet, he said, was held with Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti in the chair in the Cabinet Room of the Civil Secretariat on Monday. It was 33rd meeting of the present provincial cabinet of the province.
The minister said that the cabinet observed that budget for the current financial year 2010-11 was deficit-free and balanced. However, he said that since with very beginning of the financial year, the provincial government had faced deficit. The provincial cabinet offered fateha for the martyrs of Timergara, Charsadda and Swabi explosions, maternal uncle of the provincial minister Zahir Ali Shah and sister of Chief Secretary Ghulam Dastagir.
The provincial cabinet, he said, reviewed the six months' performance of the current financial year and discussed financial resources and proposals for new schemes for next financial year 2011-12. The cabinet also considered some recommendations for increase in the provincial revenues.
The cabinet was told that first six months of the current fiscal year 2010-11 remained financially difficult. In the wake of international recession national economy also registered decline. The devastation by flood, law and order, difficult situation and delay in the release of federal funds for the province created financial constraints for the province.
The cabinet, he said, also approved certain recommendations relating to schemes for alleviation of poverty, assistance of skilled persons and promotion of technical education to enable the departments concerned to practical shapes of these schemes and present it before the provincial cabinet for approval. He said that these schemes would be included in the annual budget for financial year 2011-12 beside continuation of the programmes initiated during last financial year.
The provincial cabinet also took measures for arresting increase in the official expenses and maintenance of financial discipline that included fixation of the maximum limit of the expenditures of 12 provincial departments, one-time sanctioning of funds for the development schemes of Planning and Development (P&D) Department and three years development planning as per policy of the provincial government.
For other departments, measures were taken for the fixation of last limit of the recurrent expenditures to enable them for preparing different period schemes, introduction of internal audit system in the department of finance to arrest the expenditures and provision of funds on the basis of performance to departments.
The minister said that the provincial government is working on preparation of separate fares formula for the CNG consuming commuter vehicles in the province. He said that the matter of increasing the fares of CNG vehicles in proportion to the increase in the prices of diesel and petroleum has already come to the notice of the provincial government. He said that separate fares would be fixed for the CNG consuming vehicles in proportion to the price of CNG in the province.