K-P to form a provincial authority to use proceeds for exploration. PHOTO: FILE
This assurance came during a meeting between the premier and the K-P chief minister on Friday in Islamabad. Earlier, the CM briefed Imran Khan on the net hydel profit issue of the province and laid stress on resolving it within the parameters laid down in the AGN Qazi formula.
The two leaders agreed that the federal and provincial governments would work in tandem on the exploration projects. It was also agreed that the federal and provincial governments needed to be on the same page with regard to energy projects in the province.
The CM also briefed the PM on four energy projects in Chitral. The federal government agreed to give the K-P representation in the Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDCL) and the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) so that voice of the province should not go unheard.
The meeting also agreed to the proposal of the CM to grant the K-P additional new blocks near the existing Lakki Block so that the province could execute oil and gas related projects and facilitate investment.
Mahmood also briefed the prime minister about the existing status of the 356 micro hydel projects initiated by the province for provision of cheap electricity to domestic consumers in far-off areas where water resources go untapped.
He said the government initiated these projects to generate electricity for the local communities in the nearby areas. Some 326 of these mini-hydel power stations have been completed, he added.
He said a mechanism has been evolved to hand over these projects to the communities within the next two to three months. The communities would own these mini projects and run and manage them on their own.
The K-P government would form an independent and high-powered authority to use the royalty from the oil and gas related projects in oil and gas exploration in the province, CM Mahmood assured the premier
The CM also raised the issue of exploitation of natural resources of the province for the benefit of the province and uplifting its people.
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“We have a comprehensive multidimensional plan covering all sectors. The K-P would start projects for the long term sustainable development of the province. We are focused to explore and exploit all productive areas and are launching money earning projects to help province get self-sufficient.
“We are working to get out of the quagmire of dependency. The root is tough but we have the matching resolve and commitment to convert our efforts into a beautifully carried and ideally converted goal that is the destination of the province under the vision of the Prime Minister Imran Khan,” he said.
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