Muhammad Faheem

A consultative meeting chaired by Finance Adviser Himayatullah Khan was held to discuss the National Finance Commission and hydropower net profit, where Finance Secretary Ayaz Khan presented a detailed briefing. The meeting revealed that the amount owed by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to the federal government has reached a staggering 628 billion rupees.

Among the debts, 470 billion rupees pertain to the tribal districts, accumulated during the four years under the rapid development program, while 69 billion rupees are from the last fiscal year budget of the tribal districts. Moreover, 57 billion rupees from the last financial year’s hydropower net profit and 32.2 billion rupees in the form of distributable income remain unpaid by the federal government.

The meeting emphasized that the seventh NFC award passed in 2010, initially applicable only to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, now includes the tribal districts as well. However, the province is still receiving the same funds as it did before the merger, leading to a financial disparity.

Khan highlighted that the Federal Board of Revenue collected 5,155 billion rupees during the first nine months of the last financial year. As per the 7th NFC Award, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was entitled to 471 billion 30 crore rupees, yet the province has only received 457 billion 7 crore rupees, leaving 13 billion 60 billion rupees in arrears.

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Furthermore, the province owes 18 billion 60 crore rupees in federal tax assignment over the last four years, resulting in a total amount due to the Federation of 32 billion 20 crore rupees.

The current financial situation of the tribal districts also came under discussion during the meeting. Out of the reserved 107 billion rupees for ongoing expenses and development funds, the federal government has provided only 60 billion rupees to the province. As a result, 47 billion rupees remain unpaid, forcing the province to cut development funds and allocate ten billion rupees from the current budget. Additionally, 17 billion rupees were budgeted for TDPs, but no payment has been received from the federal government.

In terms of development funds for tribal districts, 19 billion 85 crore rupees have been paid out of the allocated 25 billion rupees, leaving more than five billion rupees overdue. The total amount due in the funds of the tribal districts reaches 69 billion rupees.

Himayatullah Khan revealed that from the financial year 2019-20 to the financial year 2022-23, the federal government is owed a staggering 144 billion 40 crore rupees for the ongoing expenses and development budget of the tribal districts. Under the rapid development program, out of the allocated 400 billion rupees annually in the last four years, only 75 billion 50 crore rupees have been paid to the province. Thus, a total of 470 billion rupees remains owed to the federal government in both terms.

The meeting also highlighted that only 4.9 billion rupees were paid in the last financial year in the form of electricity net profit, leaving 57 billion rupees still owed to the federal government.

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