Road to progress: 667 uplift projects approved for Malakand Division

So far, 164 agreements have been signed between DCs, community-based organisations

PESHAWAR: At least 667 development projects have been approved for six districts of Malakand Division.

This was stated in a handout issued on Thursday and was mentioned during the sixth Policy Coordination and Review Committee (PCRC) meeting, which was convened to address issues in implementing community-driven development projects in the division. The moot was chaired by the secretary of the local government, elections and rural development department.

During the meeting, progress made by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Community-Driven Local Development (CDLD) was discussed. “Around 11,300 applications were received in four rounds from community members in six districts – Chitral, Lower Dir, Malakand, Shangla, Swat and Upper Dir,” stated the handout. “The district authorities approved 667 projects, which amount to Rs873.5 million.” According to the document, 164 agreements have been signed so far between the deputy commissioners and community-based organisations. More are in the pipeline.

Participants agreed to strengthen coordination among CDLD’s policy implementing partners. A series of measures were also endorsed to implement programmes and improve coordination among various partners at the provincial and district levels.

“These measures include the establishment of women facilitation desks to ensure projects related to women are brought to the fore,” stated the handout. “A CDLD management information system was also endorsed to track progress.” It added, “The inclusion of engineers and experts to carry out technical evaluation of community projects was also discussed.”

During the meeting, it was decided the irrigation department should be included under CDLD’s policy mandate as one of the eligible funding sectors.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th, 2016.