Judicious and on time utilisation of maximum amount of funds allocated and released for the schemes of socio-economic uplift has never been achieved in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa. But lapse of bulk of the funds has become a regular feature over the past few years as the spending percentage on social sector development never rose above 25 percent. Realizing this scenario, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan directed all administrative departments to take effective measures for ensuring 100 percent utilisation of development funds earmarked under the Annual Development Programme during the current fiscal year which does not seem possible as less than three months are left for it. Interestingly, all government departments have been instructed to surrender all un-utilised budgets by 15th of this month.
The spending capacity of all line departments has been limited and it was a common knowledge that great chunk of development funds used to be spent on the purchase of unnecessary items plus misappropriation of unutilized component during the last quarter of every financial year. Over the past five years fear of accountability has further slowed down the pace of expenditure incurring on development schemes. Carryover of these schemes to the next fiscal year results in cost escalation.
On the contrary health and education is still not getting the required amounts of funds allocation for expansion in the existing infrastructures and building new hospitals and schools. Former health secretary was keen to expand the infrastructure of secondary and tertiary healthcare. He suggested planning for building four teaching level hospitals for the capital city of Peshawar alone. To reduce the rush of patients on the three MTI hospitals up-gradation of Mouli Jee hospital and Nasirullah Babar Memorial hospital is inevitable. The district headquarter hospitals are by and large functioning as referral centers due dearth of equipments, trained doctors and paramedics. Why no divert development funds for improving health infrastructure at these hospitals?
The existing schools in urban areas cannot accommodate the increasing number of students. But no planning is done to open new schools. The funds released by district governments under parent-teachers council mechanism are not adequate for building new classrooms in schools.
In agriculture sector water conservation methods are not getting enough importance. Pace of work on the ongoing projects of small dams is very slow. In southern districts of the province construction of small dams on potential sites will cost less about one million rupees each dam. The lining of Gomalzam canal by irrigation department has been abnormally delayed. Installation of solar tube wells in arid areas is essential. Resetting of priorities and capacity building of line departments can ensure judicious utilisation of development funds.
