The federal government is considering enhancing provincial planning ministries’ sanctioning powers to Rs. Twenty billion for development projects. It has also proposed to reduce the departmental planning committee’s powers to just Rs. 500 million, and an official source told.
A revised summary to enhance sanctioning powers of various development forums will be moved to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for approval; a source has told the BBC’s Secretariat in Peshawar on Thursday. The document had been moved during the tenure of the PTI-led government.
The ECNEC is the highest forum for approving development projects costing more than Rs. 10 billion. In 2020, the sanctioning power of the committee had been revised upward from Rs. Three billion to Rs.10 billion.
Deputy Chairman Planning Commission chairs the meeting of the CDWP. The previous government had increased its sanctioning powers from Rs. Three billion to Rs. 10 billion. The DDWP, on the other hand, has a sanctioning power of Rs. 2 billion.
The PDWP is a forum for the approval of projects from Rs. Four hundred million to Rs. 10 billion. Various provinces have submitted proposals for their respective PDWPs. Sindh wants unlimited sanction powers, while Punjab wants to keep it at Rs. 15 billion, and Balochistan wants Rs.10 billion.
The proposal would also reduce DDWP’s sanctioning powers to Rs. Five hundred million from the existing Rs. 2 billion.
