PDWP okays 54 uplift schemes worth Rs54b

Rehabilitation centres for disabled to be built in NMDs

PESHAWAR:

The provincial government approved as many as 54 development projects worth over Rs54 billion on Wednesday.

The uplift schemes were approved during the Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) meeting which was chaired by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Additional Chief Secretary Shakil Qadir Khan.

The meeting was attended by members of the PDWP and officials of the relevant departments.

The forum considered 61 schemes about different sectors. It approved 54 of these schemes. One project was cleared by the PDWP and recommended to the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) for approval. Another six schemes were deferred due to inadequate designs and were returned to their respective departments for rectification.

Projects approved in the health sector included the strengthening of rehabilitation services for the physically disabled in the provincial health department, opening of Community Health Centres (CHCs) in South Waziristan, Mohmand, Khyber, North Waziristan, Orakzai, FR Peshawar districts.

It also approved the establishment of a paraplegic centre in the merged districts under the AIP.

The meeting also approved the purchase of equipment and furniture for the newly-constructed

hostel, 60 rooms, two lecture theatres, laboratories and auditorium at the Saidu Medical College.

The meeting also approved several schemes in multi-sector development. In the Social Welfare sector, the establishment of a comprehensive rehabilitation centre for people with disabilities PWDs in Dera Ismail Khan, Swat and Abbottabad, and the establishment of a centre of excellence for special children with autism in Peshawar.

In the water sector, the meeting approved construction of different canal roads and overhead bridges, pavement of canals, nullahs and water channels in different union councils of the provincial capital.

The meeting also approved the reconstruction of a Government Technical Institute Ghiljoo in the Orakzai district.

The forum further approved the construction of district headquarters secretariats in Upper Chitral and Palas-Kohistan.

In the security sector, the meeting approved training programmes for police and levies along with the provision of necessary equipment.

Schemes approved in the road sector include the design and rehabilitation of the Mingora-Jambeel-Gokand road, rehabilitation of flood-damaged roads and bridges due to flash flood and GLOF 2015 in Chitral.

The dualisation of the Mardan-Swabi Road - with assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) was also approved. Several roads projects in other districts were also approved during the meeting.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 19^th, 2020.