CM irked over delay in hiring NMTDs staff

Orders removal of bottlenecks while approving development schemes

PESHAWAR: Over a year since taking over affairs in the province and since the tribal areas were merged in the province, the chief minister has expressed his annoyance over delays in hiring essential education and health staff in these areas.

He also sought regular performance reports of all departments in the erstwhile federally administered tribal areas (Fata).

This was directed by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Monday while chairing a meeting to review the progress of important projects under the Tribal Decade Strategy (TDS).

He noted that to fulfil the needs of newly-merged tribal districts (NMTDs) residents, recruitment of teachers and doctors in these areas must be completed on an emergency basis. These new hires, he noted, will help staff the established schools and health facilities in the tribal districts and make them functional.

“The people of K-P, including the tribal districts, have elected us for a second term and we must undertake all efforts to ensure their expectations are met accordingly,” Mahmood stated.

On this occasion, CM Mahmood demanded performance reports from the education, health and police departments, adding that all priority sectors will be subject to monthly evaluation. Those found negligent in their duties will face action as per the rules.

After the Election Commis­sion of Pakistan (ECP) had lifted a ban on the distribution of easy loans to the youth under the Insaf Rozgar Scheme following the July 20 elections in the NMTDs, Mahmood said that they have distributed as much as Rs2.8 million amongst youngsters in these areas in the last 11 days of August.

Noting that the data on the number of application for loans submitted under the programme are less than flattering, Mahmood remarked that the process for obtaining loans under the scheme need to be made easier and less stringent.

Similarly, to provide free healthcare facilities under the provincial health insurance scheme, the Sehat Sahulat Programme, more than half a million families have been provided with the Sehat Insaf Card, Mahmood said.

With regards to the construction of road networks in the erstwhile Fata areas, the chief minister was told that as many as 35 project concepts I (PC-Is) have been approved. Under the approved projects, as many as a 100 kilometres of roads will be built in the South Waziristan Tribal District alone.

On the allocations made for the provision of free basic stationery, school bags, and conditional grants for basic facilities in schools approved through the Parent-Teacher Committees, the CM was told that these soft schemes are designed to make a quick impact as they can be initiated immediately in many areas simultaneously.

The list of approved schemes includes spending on the agriculture sector through the Integrated Agriculture Development in Merged Areas programme. These schemes include developing culturable wasteland and solarization of existing agriculture tube-wells and wells apart from using more modern and water-efficient techniques such as tissue culture technology at higher altitudes in the merged districts.

Mahmood, though, expressed his displeasure over the unnecessary delays and bottlenecks in approving these projects, noting that inaction and delaying tactics will not be tolerated.

To combat institutional lethargy, he said that clear timelines should be given for tasks and pace of work should be tracked based on set timelines.

“No department will be allowed to keep a summary for more than three days. Every summary should reach the CM’s table is not more than ten days,” he directed. 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 17^th, 2019.