KP chief minister resents delay in issuance of NOCs to builders

PESHAWAR: Taking exception to the delay in issuance of no-objection certificates (NOCs) to the private sector for construction of high-rise buildings, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Monday directed the officials to ensure that these documents were issued within the given timeline.

He said this while chairing a meeting of the Local Government and Rural Development Department, said an official handout. Chief Secretary Kazim Niaz, Director-General Peshawar Development Authority Ammara Khan, commissioner, administrative secretaries and other officials attended the meeting.

The chief minister directed the officials to follow the relevant rules and by-laws to facilitate the private sector investors to attract investment to the province. He said the government had promulgated laws and put in place a regularity regime for attracting maximum private sector investment. The implementation of the relevant laws in letter and spirit was the foremost responsibility of the departments and entities concerned, he maintained.

He said action would be taken against the officials responsible for negligence or creating unnecessary hurdles to private investment. Expressing dissatisfaction with the performance of the tehsil municipal administrations and other subordinate entities of the Local Government Department with regard to the issuance of NOCs to commercial buildings, the chief minister said hurdles were being created at the lower level for the investors instead of facilitating them.

He termed ease-of-doing-business and extending maximum facilities to the investors as an integral part of his government’s vision to attract investment. Mahmood Khan maintained the government introduced legislation to attract the private sector investment to create jobs for the people.

The chief minister made it clear that the relevant departments and entities were required to ensure implementation of those laws and rules to achieve the purpose for which these were meant or else strict action would be initiated against the responsible ones. He directed the chief secretary to supervise such matters and asked the Local Government Department to submit a report about the NOCs issued to the private sector thus far.