ISLAMABAD: A day after opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf won six out of eight seats it had vacated, an urgently called virtual meeting of the Economic Coordination Commi­ttee (ECC) of the federal cabinet approved a supplementary grant of Rs17 billion to increase discretionary spending on development schemes of parliamentarian to a record Rs87bn.

The meeting, which was presided over by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar from London through video link, also approved Rs3.2bn to provide seed to wheat farmers affected by devastating floods and deferred a summary for another Rs5bn funds till the seventh housing and population census.

The increase in funds for development schemes to Rs87bn would ensure that all 174 members of the National Assembly belonging to Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) would get Rs500million worth of small schemes — sewage lines, gas, water and electricity connections, and repair and maintenance of streets — in the name of Sustainable Deve­lopment Goals (SDGs).

“During the current fiscal year (CFY) 2022-23, Rs70bn has been allocated under demand No 92-IB-0600-Development Expendi­ture of the Cabinet Division in respect of Susta­inable Development Goals Achieve­ment Programme (SAP),” wrote cabinet secretary Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera while informing the ECC that Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal had promised “the additional funds to the tune of Rs17bn could be arranged if desired by the steering committee” on SAP that he himself was heading.

ECC defers summary for Rs5bn grant for seventh housing and population census

Mr Sukhera said the steering committee then “directed the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives for surrender of Rs17bn from CFY2022-23 in favour of the cabinet division to finance schemes of areas deprived so far”.

Accordingly, the sources said, the ministry of planning surrendered Rs17bn from funds earlier allocated in the budget for areas such as Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and parts of the provinces.

An announcement by the finance ministry confirmed that the ECC approved additional funds as technical supplementary grant amounting to Rs17bn during the current financial year 2022-23 under the SAP, to finance the urban/rural infrastructure and social development schemes for deprived areas.

The additional funds for SDGs have been approved at a time the government has released less than Rs50bn in the first quarter of the current fiscal year instead of at least Rs145bn, as required under disbursement mechanism for development schemes that required 20pc of annual development budget — Rs727bn for current year — to be released in the July-September period.

Strangely though, the ministry of planning has for the first time in more than a decade stopped making public the release of funds for various projects, ministries, divisions, agencies and areas. As a tradition, the planning ministry had been putting on its website weekly disbursements for development funds for the sake of transparency.

An official said more funds would be made available to other members of parliament in due course, but these approved funds would be spent in the National Assembly constituencies on the recommendations of the MNAs who voted for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The development schemes under the SAP, recommended by members, are then cleared by a steering committee led by the planning minister — an arrangement put in place a few years ago to sidestep a Supreme Court judgement.

The PTI had earlier started similar disbursements on political considerations for SAP after coming to power and allocated Rs64bn in its budget last year.

In view of the heavy damage to the agriculture sector due to the recent floods and to support flood-affected farmers, the ECC approved technical supplementary grant of Rs3.2bn to the Ministry of Food Security and Research for subsequent transfer to the NDMA for procurement and distribution of wheat seed to flood-hit districts.

Additional funds to the tune of Rs3.4bn will be made available to the food ministry subsequently.

Federal ministers Tariq Bashir Cheema, Syed Naveed Qamar, Khur­ram Dastgir Khan, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi MNA/ex-PM, Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Masood Malik and SAPM on Finance Tariq Bajwa attended the meeting.

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2022