Senate body to summon provincial finance ministers over NFC: sources

ISLAMABAD: Senate’s standing committee on finance has decided to summon four provincial ministers in its session likely to be held in next week, sources said.

Sources said that the provinces and the Centre have differences of opinion over the delay in the next national finance commission award. The Central authorities opined that the funds could not be allocated to provinces for those departments that have been transferred to them, according to sources.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa argued that the province’s population has increased with the merger of FATA region and demanding increased share in the National Finance Commission Award, sources said.

Balochistan demanding distribution of financial resources under the recently held national population census.

“The distribution of resources after each five years mandated by the constitution,” according to sources. “Current NFC Award was decided in year 2009 and was come into force from July 2010”.

The ongoing NFC Award being extended each year after completion of its mandated period.

Under the NFC formulae 57.5% of divisible resources transferred to provinces and 42.5% to the centre.

In further distribution of resources among provinces, Punjab gets 51.74 percent, Sindh 24.55%, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 14.62 percent and Baluchistan 9.09%.