Rescue 1122 for five K-P districts among 39 projects approved

PDWP approves projects worth Rs21.36b across the province

PESHAWAR: A provincial body to review development projects in the province has approved on Tuesday as many as 39 projects worth an estimated Rs21.36 billion, including the establishment of Rescue 1122 services in multiple districts apart from construction and blacktopping of several roads across the province.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) met with the Additional Chief Secretary Dr Shahzad Bangash in the chair.

The forum considered 45 projects pertaining to different sectors including Relief and Rehabilitation (R&R), Local Government (LG), Multi-Sectoral Development (MSD), finance, roads and bridges (R&B), building, Department of Water Supply and Sanitation (DWSS), agriculture, health, sports and tourism (S&T), higher education, elementary and secondary education, water and Accelerated Implementation Programme (AIP) sectors for the uplift of the province, including the newly-merged tribal districts (NMTDs).

Of the 39 projects approved, two projects were recommended to the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) and the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC).

The PDWP deferred as many as four projects owing to inadequate designs. These projects were returned to their respective departments for rectification.

The forum approved three projects of the R&R and sports sectors worth Rs4.429 billion under the Tribal Decade Strategy (TDS).

The R&R sector projects approved include the establishment of the K-P Emergency Rescue Service (Rescue-1122) in four districts including Malakand, Shangla, Lower Kohistan, and Lakki Marwat. Further, the forum approved compensation for utilising land in North Waziristan Tribal District under the TDS and the Accelerated Implementation Programme (AIP).

LG projects approved included a Special Initiative Programme for PK-30 Mardan apart from mass awareness and publicity schemes.

MSD projects approved include the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) in all erstwhile federally administered tribal areas (Fata) and its sub-divisions.

Financial projects approved include the K-P Revenue Mobilization and Resource Management Programme.

The roads and bridges sector accounted for the most projects approved by the PDWP on Tuesday. These include project concepts-II (PC-II) for making the feasibility and designs of a Swari to Dagar Bypass Road, roads in union councils (UC) of Buner including Rega, Krapa, Dewana Baba, Shalbandai, Noorizi, Batara, Pandair, Sooray, Gul Bandal, Gagra, PK-21.

Moreover, projects approved include the construction and black-topping of a road Mardan to Gujarano Kalay via Mir Ahmad Kallay, Sheikh Abad to Sher Khan Kallay, Karwan Road, Soor Mill Raheema to Landay Shah, Dosehra to Nazoo Kallay, and the Pakistan Kallay to Dehri Zardad in Charsadda district.

Construction, improvement, rehabilitation, and widening of 16 different roads (20 Km) in PK-44 Abbottabad was also approved along with the construction of a seven-kilometer-long internal road in Jhagra, a 60 metre wide GM Bridge- in Peshawar.

A road connecting the Bagh Adam Khel Tribe in Tirah area of Khyber Tribal District was also approved.

The construction and black-topping of roads in the Orakzai Tribal District including roads in the Jamrud Tehsil and the Landikotal area of Khyber. A 3.5 km by-pass to the Sabzi Mewa Mandi via Darpa Khel, Qasim and Miranshah in North Waziristan was approved.

A black-topped road in Wana, South Waziristan was also approved.

From the building sector and the C&W department, the PDWP approved the establishment of a project unit for the Provincial Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Settlement Authority (PaRRSA) and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) under a US Agency for International Development (USAID) projects.

From DWSS, projects including the construction of a solar and gravity-based project in South Waziristan and a PC-II for preparing feasibility and detailed designs for the construction of the “Greater Water Supply Scheme Shalman to Landikotal” — based on River Kabul and other water sources in the vicinity (pumping and gravity-based) were approved.

The PDWP also approved a project for the virus-free potato production using tissue culture technology in Kurram and Orakzai by the agriculture sector.

In the health sector, projects to upgrade the Barshawar basic health unit (BHU) in Swat to a rural health centre (RHC), the establishment of the Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Children’s Hospital in Mardan and solarization of existing area headquarters and Tehsil Headquarters hospitals in NMTDs were approved.

In S&T, a project to revive squash in K-P was approved. Moreover, a project to set up, rehabilitate and upgrade sports facilities in Mardan and NMTDs, the establishment of the multipurpose indoor gymnasium of international standards in Buner were approved. Projects to standardize and upgrade sports complexes in Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Haripur, and Mardan were also approved.

Projects to develop roads to tourist areas in the Malakand Division apart from construction of access roads to tourist spots in the Hazara Division apart from holding sports activities in NMTDs was approved.

In higher education, a project to develop feasibility for the University of Engineering Technology (UET) Swat was approved.

The PDWP approved an irrigation sector project for the construction of flood protection walls (FPWs) on both sides of Chora Khwar near Chitral Colony and the construction of FPWs at Regi Lalma. Moreover, construction of a water channel in Lakaray Kaniza, Malakandar Chora Khwar UC-42 in Peshawar.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 18^th, 2019.