Though Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah on Thursday claimed that fund allocation to each MPA was increased from Rs 10 to Rs 20 million, in fact, most of the funds remained unutilised as the elected representatives did not bother to submit development schemes intended for their respective constituencies.
Sources told Pakistan Today that this year at least Rs 1.85 billion were released against a total of Rs 4 billion under the MPAs Priority Programme, but even then the funds could not be fully utilised. In 2009, an amount of Rs 1.95 billion allocated for various uplift schemes under Tameer-e-Pakistan Programme (TPP) was also not utilised and lapsed by the closure of financial year.
Sources in the TPP said that only around 45 MPAs submitted their development schemes for approval so far, with the majority belonging to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and a few MPAs of the Pakistan People’s Party. “The MPA Priority Programme is aimed at providing basic amenities to the local inhabitants of constituencies under public representatives. Elected representatives play a very significant role in the development, as they have direct interaction with the community.
Considering this reality, the allocation to each MPA was increased from Rs 10 to Rs 20 million in 2008-09,” stated Shah, while presenting the three-year performance report of Sindh government. However, it appears that the chief minister does not know about the efficiency and sincerity of his party’s elected representatives.
