Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Minister for Local Governments (LG) wants 70 per cent of the development budget for the province within the 2015-2016 periods to be set aside for LG expenses.
The main purpose of this earmarked amount would be to pay the salaries and allowances of elected LG officials.
Of the Rs 144.42 billion-budgeted outlay for LG in KP, an amount of Rs 102.38bn has been proposed for the payment of LG salaries and allowances, states a private television citing a document.
This leaves a Rs 42.04bn ─ or 30 per cent of the budgeted amount of Rs 144.42bn ─ to be devolved to LG for development in the province.
The proposal was submitted by the KP ministry for local governments headed by senior provincial minister Inayatullah of the Jamaat-i-Islami and is currently pending approval of Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak.
The allocation of 30 per cent of the KP budget to local governments had been lauded as a ‘revolutionary move’ at a time when the Sindh and Punjab governments had both presented what appeared to be run-of-the-mill budgets.