A legislative body of the Senate, on Friday, directed deputy commissioners (DCs) in all seven districts of ex-FATA to furnish the proposed and recommended Annual Developmental Plan (ADP) for the year 2019-20.
During the meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on States and Frontier Regions, held today in parliament house, DCs were also asked to submit details of the plan before the body. Senator Hidayatullah chaired over the meeting.
The Committee was told that Planning and Development Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Law Enforcement Agencies noted that members of National Assembly (MNAs); Senators and tribal elders had to be consulted before proposing any project in the area.
The meeting was attended among others by Senators Hilal-ur-Rehman, Sajjad Hussain Turi, Shamim Afridi, Najma Hameed, SAFRON Secretary, Member IR Policy Wing, TESCO CEO and officials from State Bank and relevant ministries.
The matter of tax exemption to ex-FATA was also discussed in detail where the panel was told that the SROs 1212 and 1213 related to sales tax and income tax were not in force now.
The tax situation was said to be the same as one applied before the 25th amendment.
The Committee decided to call FBR Chairman and secretaries of finance and law and justice to the next meeting to discuss the matter.
With regard to the provision of agricultural loans to small farmers from FATA, the committee was told that the total amount of outstanding loans given to people from FATA between 2009 and 2012 stood at 471 million, out of which, only 30 million consisted of agricultural loans.
The committee recommended to wave off agricultural loans as a relief to small farmers quoting that the area had been under civil war and resultantly, no agricultural produce had been obtained.
The Senate body was also updated on the status of the non-payment of salaries and pension to the personnel of levies and Khassadar working in Kurram and Orakzai
