Differences persist in NEC on transfer of projects

Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Monday asked provinces to take responsibility of 75 projects to save the centre from a financial burden of Rs200 billion amid reservations expressed by the federating units about the mandate of an interim government to make such decisions. Despite the transfer of 75 schemes, the federal government will keep the ownership of 282 provincial-nature projects that will require Rs800 billion more to complete work on them. The federal government has already spent a huge sum of Rs366 billion on these projects. The interim prime minister chaired a meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) – the constitutional forum responsible for making decisions on macroeconomic and development plans, which was also attended by three provincial chief ministers except for Punjab. The NEC asked provinces to take over 68 projects costing Rs121 billion and placed a ban on further spending on parliamentarians’ schemes and the prime minister’s initiatives. These three steps will save the centre a cost of Rs202 billion, including Rs112 billion during the current fiscal year.