Centre to pay net hydel profit to the NWFP government, assures Tareen.

PESHAWAR, August 28, 2009 (Balochistan Times): The NWFP Minister for Finance Engineer Muhammad Humayun Khan alongwith Senator Haji Muhammad Adeel and other members of the National omission Award team from NWFP called on the Federal Minister for Finance Shaukat Tareen on Friday and discussed with him the issue of net hydel profit of the province so far payable to WAPDA and which has now reached to the tune of Rs. 251 billion from Rs. 110 billion. The Federal Finance Minister assured the NWFP team that the Federal Government would solve the issue of payable net hydel profit to the NWFP government. He issued directives to the WAPDA high ups to convene a meeting in his office today (Saturday) and scrutinize the issue. He said all the physiological and psychological hindrances be removed and the issue in question be studied so that proper solution could be worked out and that the frustration among the small federating units be removed. Shaukat Tareen further assured that the federal government wanted to bring all the provinces close to each other and also to remove the distances between the centre and the provinces. He said he was fully aware of the difficulties the small provinces were facing due to poor resources and the federal government would fully share the difficulties with the small provinces. The NWFP Minister for Finance Engineer Muhammad Humayun Khan expressed his gratitude to the federal finance minister and lauded his efforts and commitment in connection with the solution of the net hydel profit issue of NWFP. He expressed the hope that before the coming September 18 - 19 meeting of the NFC Award at Quetta, the net hydel profit issue of the Frontier Government would be solved. Humayun Khan also expressed his optimism that the issue would be solved in the light of the formula of the Arbitrary Tribunal which was held under the chair of Ajmal Mian Soomro during the previous government. He disclosed that according to that formula, the WAPDA had to pay Rs. 110 billion to NWFP which had now reached to Rs. 251 billion after interest. He also affirmed his commitment that he would pursue the federal government to get more funds for the NWFP particularly Malakand which had been severely hit by terrorism.

(THROUGH ASIA PULSE)