Jhagra seeks political parties support to get rights from Centre

PESHAWAR: Finance Minister Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra has asked all the political parties to support the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government in an effort to get from the federal government the net hydel profit (NHP) and maximum funds for the merged districts.

In his post-budget press conference on Tuesday, the minister said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-led coalition government at the Centre had not released a single penny to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in connection with net hydel profit since it’s coming into power in April this year.

“The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had paid Rs21 billion to the province under the head of NHP till March in monthly installments,” he said adding the then federal minister Shaukat Tareen had agreed in principle to the province to pay with annual indexation of 5 per cent.

The PTI government had reflected the NHP amount for the upcoming financial year 2022-23 as Rs61.9 billion in its budgetary documents.

It asked the federal government to institutionalise the monthly NHP payment to the province by delinking it with the Water and Power Development Authority.

To a question, Jhagra said that like the previous governments, the PTI government could also convene a jirga of all political parties to settle the issue of net hydel profit under the AGN Kazi formula.

“We don’t play politics with it and even we had raised this issue time and again with Imran Khan-led government in past and would not withdraw from it in future,” the minister said.

He added the partners in the coalition government must raise this issue with the federal government.

The minister deplored the reduction of federal grants for former tribal areas (now merged districts) for the next fiscal year as he claimed that the PTI-led government had raised the developmental funds for the merged districts up to Rs131 billion which were now reduced to Rs110 billion in the present federal government.

“All the political parties, particularly those having support bases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa must take this issue with the federal government as the former tribal areas should be given priority in developmental schemes and projects,” he said and added that these areas had remained backward and underdeveloped in past. The minister claimed that no new taxes had been levied in the annual budget while more relief and facilities were promised to the general public and provincial government employees.

He mentioned the Insaf Food Programme as a revolutionary step by the PTI government for the poor and deserving people for which Rs26 billion had been allocated and that would benefit over one million families.

Similarly, he added, the Insaf Education flagship scholarship would benefit hundreds of deserving and talented students in receiving higher education from the reputable educational institutions of the country.

To a question, Taimur Jhagra who also holds the portfolio of health said the night OPD would be started soon in the major hospitals of the province while the Sehat Insaf Cards could be used for the treatment of more fatal and expensive diseases.

However, the minister could not explain how and when Friday as Work from Home Day would be implemented in the province to save fuel and electricity by the provincial government employees in the offices.

Jhagra in his budget speech had claimed that the provincial government employees would observe Friday as Work from Home Day to save energy and consumption of petroleum products.

The minister had claimed that up to Rs5 billion would be saved with the one day of work from home in a week.