K-P officials mull over Rs1tr spending plan

7-day workshop held to frame 10-year development plan for merged tribal district

PESHAWAR: Extensive consultation over the spending plan of Rs1.23 trillion development funds in the merged areas over the next 10 years continued for the fourth consecutive day with the representatives of local government, PHE, Transport, Housing and Tourism and Sports departments chalking out plans, strategies and identifying forthcoming obstacles for effective and rapid development.

The consultation is being held in the seven-day consultative workshop orgasnised to frame 10-year development plan for the merged tribal districts.

According to details, 30% of the funds will be allocated for the development of Local Governments in the merged districts. Over the next three years, the development funds will be utilized for construction of 702 Village/ Neighbourhood councils, 1,000 km farm to market link roads, sanitation, 500 solar power based drinking water supply schemes, 100 gravity based DWSS, solarization of existing 200 DWSS, construction of drains, capacity development of elected local representatives and schemes for solid waste management.

As for the Public Health Sector, the ongoing programmes to be completed till 2021 include the completion of 89 schemes identified in the ADP 2018-19, sanitation system programme in all tribal district headquarters, rehabilitation and solarization of 220 DWSS under the grant of USAID in tribal districts and six water and sanitation schemes in North Waziristan with the support of UNICEF.

The future plans for the PHE Department include the rehabilitation, improvement, solariztion and augmentation of existing 518 DWSS, 391 pumping and gravity DWSS for the unserved areas in all tribal districts, 10 new sanitation programmes for all tribal districts, master planning for provision of DWSS & Sanitation facilities in all tribal districts and Capacity building of PHED merged areas.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 22^nd, 2019.