ISLAMABAD, Dec 2: The finance ministry is using delaying tactics in releasing funds to the Fata secretariat which has sought Rs11 billion for creating 4,545 jobs, a National Assembly committee was informed on Friday.

A Fata secretariat official informed the standing committee on state and frontier regions (Safron) that the ministry had so far agreed to release funds for 1,000 posts but even those funds had not been released.

In 2009, the Fata secretariat initiated a case for the creation of 4,545 posts for which Rs11 billion was demanded.

Safron Secretary Habibullah Khan said that all formalities had been completed in this regard and only release of funds from the finance ministry was awaited.

The members complained that neither funds were released nor appointments made in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

The situation, they said, was creating among the Fata residents a sense of deprivation and frustration.

The committee noted with concern that the finance ministry had released only Rs1 billion out of the approved development budget of Rs15 billion during the current fiscal year.

The committee decided to call the secretaries of finance, Safron and Fata secretariat to its next meeting to explainfinancial matters.

It said local public representatives should be consulted on all development schemes, projects funded by donors and NGOs and the Annual Development Programme. A transparent audit, monitoring and evaluation system should be put in place for the programmes, it said.

The committee was of the view that the provision of Rs1.8 billion for strengthening `peace committees` and lashkars should be rationalised.

It recommended that proposals to set up a Fata university, information technology university, medical college and engineering university should be included in the Public Sector Development Programme.The committee expressed concern over the `poor` performance of the highways and building division in Kurram Agency. It was pointed out that the officials concerned never visited the area and the financial data submitted by the departments indicated that the work had not been carried out in a transparent manner.

It said the highway division office should not be shifted from Parachinar and last year`s position in the NA-38 constituency should be maintained.

The committee called for steps to increase grants to the then nawabs of Lasbela and Kharan.