ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal stressed need for reviewing formula of resources distribution under NFC award, giving incentives to provinces for successful execution of population control programme.

Addressing ceremony organised in collaboration with British High Commission to promote awareness in tackling challenge of population control, he said it was unfortunate that 80 percent weightage was given to size of population while distributing resources under National Finance Commission award.

“Time has come; we need to seriously review NFC formula for distribution of resources, while there ought to be some weightage for population but equivalent to demographic efficiency or successful population control programme,” he said.

He said there was big contradiction itself in efforts that there was no incentive for provinces to successfully carry out population control programme. “It is sad thing that we have persisted with formula that is very negative for population control programme.”

He questioned how province could effectively execute population control programme when it knew that “Reduced number of people means getting less financial resources.”

He said national consensus should be evolved in reviewing NFC award formula, urging experts to put forward suggestions to policymakers, accordingly. He said census should not be limited only to population count but also collecting development and economic data of provinces.

He said field operation of 7th population and housing census had been completed and now digitally collected data was being verified by experts.

Published in The Daily National Courier, May, 25 2023

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