KP power dept fails to utilize development budget

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Power and Energy Department has been reported to not have completely utilised its annual development budget, with only one billion rupees out of the allocated 12.8 billion rupees spent so far.

According to documents of the Finance Department, the earlier Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government faced huge financial difficulties due to the non-provision of funds from the federal government, which affected not only the Power and Energy Department’s annual development program but also the development projects of other departments. No funds have been spent so far on the 84-megawatt Matiltan Hydropower Project, which had been allocated with 646 million rupees.

Similarly, not a single rupee has been spent on the 31.17-megawatt Koto Hydropower Project, for which 96 million rupees had been allocated.

According to official documents, 506 million rupees have been allocated for the 69-megawatt Lawi project, and 4.333 billion rupees have been allocated for the 300-megawatt Balakot Hydropower project, but no funds have been spent on these projects either.

Similarly, only 55 million rupees have been spent on the Madin Hydropower Project, 27 million rupees on planning and management support with the cooperation of the World Bank, 207 million rupees on the solarisation of 5,000 mosques, 26 million rupees on petroleum technology in Karak, and 1.5 million rupees on capacity building.

According to documents, the Finance Division has not released any funds for the 333 million rupees allocated for the solarisation project in the southern districts. Similarly, 3.1 billion rupees have been allocated for the 88-megawatt Gabral Hydropower Project, but funds have not been released yet.

Sources in the Power and Energy Department said that the provincial government has so far released only 1.5 billion rupees out of the department’s annual development funds, of which the department has spent one billion rupees. According to the sources, the projects have been delayed due to the non-provision of funds by the Finance Department, while the cost of these projects has increased manifold.