The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is facing a serious financial crisis

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is facing a serious financial crisis due to the non-payment of 710 billion rupees in the form of the National Finance Commission award and hydropower net profit to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including the development of tribal districts.
By M.Ilyas
Peshawar: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is facing a serious financial crisis due to the non-payment of 710 billion rupees in the form of the National Finance Commission award and hydropower net profit to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including the development of tribal districts. According to the documents, the federal government During the year 2018-19 to 2022-23, under the Accelerated Development Program (AIP) for the tribal districts, instead of 500 billion rupees, only 103 billion rupees have been given. And in this regard, the province owes 397 billion rupees to the federal government. Due to non-payment of 57 billion rupees for hydropower net profit, 5 billion rupees for the National Finance Commission award, 10 billion rupees for flood victims and 20 billion rupees for the cheap flour package, the province is facing a serious financial crisis. According to the documents, after the merger of the tribal districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the share of the province in the National Finance Commission award has increased on the basis of population, poverty and population density. The Caretaker Government has prepared a case to take the right from the Federation.According to the statistics of the Finance Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 107 rupees were allocated in the budget for ongoing expenses and development projects for the tribal districts.In which only 60 billion rupees have been received by the province, while 47 billion rupees are still owed.17 billion was earmarked for displaced victims while no payment was made by the federal government.Similarly, 19.85 rupees have been paid out of 25 billion rupees allocated for the development fund of tribal districts, in which payment of more than 5 billion is due.According to the Kp finance adviser, the promises of funding for the development and prosperity of the tribal districts at the time of merger have not been made by the federal government since the merger.From the financial year 2019-20 to the financial year 2022-23, 144.4 billion rupees are due in the ongoing and development budget of the tribal districts. Whereas under the faster development program, only 103 billion rupees have been given to the province instead of 500 billion rupees in the last 5 years in the form of 100 billion rupees annually and 397 billion rupees are owed. According to Article 161 of the Constitution of Pakistan, the payment of electricity net profit to the provinces is the responsibility of the federation.Only 4.9 billion rupees have been paid in the last financial year in terms of electricity net profit, while 57 billion rupees are still owed to the federation.In the first 9 months of the last financial year, the Federal Board of Revenue recovered 5,155 billion rupees, in which according to the seventh NFC award, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s share is 471.3 billion rupees, while the province has received 457.7 billion rupees so far, and arrears of 13 billion rupees are still due.Similarly, in the last four years, 18.6 billion rupees are owed in terms of federal tax assignment, out of which the amount due to the federal government is 32.2 billion rupees. Under Article 160 of the Constitution, the provinces will get a share under the National Finance Commission Award based on their population.These districts have become a constitutional part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while the province is not getting the NFC fund for their part.The Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Muhammad Azam Khan has informed the Prime Minister and Federal Finance Minister about this through a letter.