The federal cabinet has decided to monitor the implementation of development projects under Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). According to it, a mechanism will be evolved in order to ensure timely availability of funds for the development projects. A third party evaluation of the development projects will be carried out in order to ensure “transparency”.

But what appears to be intriguing in this whole scheme of things is federal government’s plan to ensure “transparency” at provincial level as well. This doesn’t seem to be a smart move on the part of the PTI government at Centre as there exist no efforts aimed at bridging the trust gap between the federation and provinces. The widening gulf between Islamabad and Sindh is a strong case in point. The federal government’s move is not likely to contribute positively towards the ideal of provincial autonomy, which is defined as the capacity of provinces to make relatively independent decisions while remaining within a federation.

Shahida Khanum (Islamabad)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021