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NWFP demands maximum share in NFC award

* Info minister hopes important decisions will be made in upcoming NFC meeting

By Zakir Hassnain

PESHAWAR: The NWFP government demanded on Monday that the federal government provide a lion’s share from the federal divisible pool to the war-torn province.

Addressing a press conference, Finance Minister Muhammad Humayun Khan also demanded that the federal government include the “cost of conflict” in the National Finance Commission (NFC) award.

Khan hoped that the proposed Chashma right bank canal project would be approved in the NFC award meeting, scheduled to be held on October 29 in Peshawar. The CRBC project will irrigate 80,000 acres of land, alleviate poverty and overcome the wheat shortage in the province, he said.

The minister urged the federal government to not distribute resources on the basis of population.

“We demand that about 70 percent of resources should be distributed on the basis of population and 10 percent each on the basis of the war on terror, poverty and backwardness,” he said.

The finance minister said the province would also raise the issue of public investment in federal government’s development projects as only four percent public investment had been made in the province, giving rise to unemployment and backwardness.

Senator Haji Muhammad Adeel said, “We have taken a tough stand on the net hydel profit in the NFC award and the federal government has announced to pay us Rs 110 billion in instalments.”

He also said, “The coming NFC meeting will be meaningless if the net hydropower generation profit and water issues are not resolved.”

Khalid Aziz, an NFC team member, said, “Security operations are underway in 11 districts due to which displacement of people is taking place. Suicide attacks on people are a routine matter and poverty rate has increased to 40 percent.”

Decisions: NWFP Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain hoped that important decisions would be made in the upcoming NFC meeting.

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