PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has allocated Rs2.577 billion for more than 50 projects of the Power and Energy Department in tribal districts but till August, the Finance Department could release only Rs945 million.
Sources said that only Rs4.20 million could be spent on power and energy projects in the tribal districts in first six months of the current financial year. The provincial government couldn’t allocate any funds for 20 projects of the Power and Energy Department in merged districts while only Rs100 million has been set-aside for four projects.
According to documents, due to unavailability funds, the Power and Energy Department couldn’t spend even a single penny on 36 projects in first two quarters of the current financial year. This will certainly delay the construction of these projects, which are considered important for the development of the much neglected tribal belt. The KP government had included important projects like micro hydro power projects, solarization of mosques and power transmission lines in tribal districts in the annual development program.
According to the documents, among the projects included in the annual development program of the Department of Energy, only Rs4.20 million could be spent on the oil and gas facilities project.
The Finance department officials said that these schemes in tribal districts couldn’t secured funds as federal government has stopped the province’s funding. The delay in the construction of these projects will led to a significant increase in the cost of construction.
