Rs65 bn uplift plan finalised for merged districts

PESHAWAR: The Provincial Task Force was informed on Thursday that the economic development plan for all merged districts had been finalised under which 30 different projects have been proposed to be implemented at an estimated cost of Rs65 billion.

Chief Minister Mahmood Khan chaired the meeting, which reviewed the progress made so far on the ongoing developmental schemes, law and order situation, matters related to merger and administrative affairs in tribal district Khyber, said an official handout.

Besides cabinet members Shahram Tarakai, Taimur Saleem Jhagara, Akbar Ayub, Shaukat Yousafzai and Kamran Bangash, the meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Kazim Niaz, IGP Sanaullah Abbassi, Corps Commander Peshawar Lt-General Nauman Mahmood, Inspector General Frontier Corps Major-General Adil Yameen, Additional Chief Secretary Shakeel Qadir and other civil and military officials.

The meeting reviewed the implementation status of the decisions taken about other tribal districts in the previous meeting of the Task Force. It was added that the proposed Economic Development Plan had been finalised in consultation with government departments, private sectors, business community, technical experts and other stakeholders.

The forum was briefed about the matrix of the plan and was informed that the action plan for the implementation of Economic Development Plan would be presented in the next meeting of the Task Force for approval.

The meeting was informed that tremendous employment opportunities would be provided to locals in various sectors whereas under the plan around 75,000 individuals would be trained in various vocational skills and 50,000 scholarships were expected to assist the skill development in various sectors.

New tourist destinations have also been proposed to be developed in Khyber, Kurram, South Waziristan and North Waziristan that will create thousands of jobs in tourism and allied industries. Briefing the forum about the developmental portfolio of District Khyber, it was informed that developmental projects worth Rs75 billion have been reflected in the Annual Development Program (ADP) and Accelerated Implementation Program (AIP) for district Khyber.

It was added that developmental projects worth Rs34 billion have been reflected in the ADP, schemes worth Rs36 billion reflected in AIP for the district in addition to the projects of reconstruction and rehabilitation worth Rs4.6 billion.

It was informed that the proposed project of Khyber Economic Corridor would be implemented. It was informed that under the supervision of security forces 74 different projects have been completed under the third phase of immediate rehabilitation initiative. The chief minister directed the senior officials concerned to fix realistic timelines for implementation of the proposed economic development plan. He underlined the need to have a special focus on the judiciary, police, health and education sectors of merged areas.