Illegal construction at tourist spots to be halted
Many tourists were stranded on Tuesday after a mass of glacier fell and blocked the Kalam Bahrain main highway in Swat. PHOTO: EXPRESS
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has directed authorities to take necessary steps to stop unauthorised constructions in Kalam, Kumrat and other tourist spots of the province immediately. He was chairing a meeting on Sunday to review progress on various initiatives of the provincial government to boost tourism activities in the province.
MPA Mian Sharafat Ali, Principal Secretary to CM Amjad Ali Khan, Secretary Tourism Abid Majeed, Secretary Communications and Works Ijaz Hussain Ansari, Secretary Local Government Mian Shakil Ahmad, Secretary Planning Aamir Tareen and other officials attended the meeting. The provincial chief executive directed to expedite work on the construction of access roads to tourist areas of Malakand, Hazara and southern districts.
CM Mahmood also told concerned quarters to carry out an assessment survey of all the rest houses owned by various provincial departments so that suitable rest houses could be handed over to tourism departments to be used for the promotion of tourism activities. The chief minister asked the high ups of the Finance Department to immediately release the remaining amount of funds to take over the rest houses of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation by the provincial government so that those rest houses could be utilised for tourism activities without any delay.
Taking notice of the delay in the implementation on certain tourism road projects in Hazara Division, CM Mahmood decided to constitute a committee comprising Secretary Tourism, Secretary Communications, Secretary Energy and other concerned officials. He directed the committee members to jointly visit the site of projects and come up with solid proposals within one month to be placed before the provincial cabinet for consideration.
Briefing the meeting about the progress on the establishment of Special Purpose Development Authorities on tourist areas, it was told that draft act had been cleared by the provincial cabinet to establish Kalam Development Authority (KDA) on the analogy of Galiyat Development Authority which would soon be tabled in the provincial assembly for enactment.
Similarly, a board of directors has been notified for KDA whereas building codes and other related matters of KDA have been finalised and will be presented to the board for formal approval within one week.
The meeting was informed that work is in progress on the establishment of Kalash Development Authority as well. Regarding the progress on tourism roads, it was told that considerable progress has been made on the construction of various tourism roads in Malakand Division whereas work on the construction of two different roads to the historical tourist spot of southern districts, Shaikh Badeen is also underway as per the given timelines.
The CM was further apprised that work on the construction of certain tourism roads in Hazara Division is delayed due to some unavoidable reasons and approval of the provincial cabinet is needed to proceed further in the matter. The meeting was also told that on the special directives of the CM, an operation is in progress against unauthorized construction activities in Kalam and Kumrat areas.