K-P jacks up payout for flood victims

PESHAWAR:

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Tuesday ordered a substantial raise in the compensation package for those who lost their lives in recent rain-related incidents.

He also directed a fully-fledged anti-encroachment drive in the flood-stricken districts and opening of all the blocked roads immediately.

The CM issued these directives while chairing a meeting of the provincial cabinet, which besides the cabinet members was also attended by the provincial chief secretary, additional chief secretary, senior member Board of Revenue and administrative secretaries.

Provincial Minister for Labour and Culture Shaukat Ali Yousafzai told reporters later on that the cabinet approved enhancing payout for the heirs of those who lost their lives in the natural calamity from Rs3 lakh to Rs8 lakh and the compensation for damaged houses from Rs1 lakh to Rs4 lakh.

The cabinet appreciated the services of the district administration, Rescue-1122 and other public institutions for initiating quick relief activities during the floods.

The chief minister has directed opening of Rescue-1122 stations in the mining districts through-out the province so as to ensure prompt response in case of any emergency and to safeguard the lives of mine workers.

He said that the cabinet also approved the continuation of subsidy on wheat flour, adding that the people will now get the subsidized atta throughout the year.

The government, he said, is spending Rs35 billion as subsidy on wheat flour.

Sufficient stock of flour is available in the province at the current moment and more than two lakh bags, weighing 10 and 20 kilogram each, are being provided to the masses on a daily basis.

This quota, he said, will be enhanced up to 2.5 lakh daily by August 15.

The provincial cabinet, he added, discussed the admission policy, criteria for reserved seats in medical and dental colleges for candidates from the tribal districts in various institutes across the country as per direction of the Peshawar High Court, and decided to maintain the status quo for the time being.

Yousafzai noted that the cabinet extended the tenure of three members of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection and Welfare Commission for the second consecutive term.

These three members of the commission, who were earlier appointed in April 2019 for a period of three years, included Pir Fida Muhammad MPA, Sumaira Shams MPA and Dr Abdul Ghafoor, a cleric of Angoor Wali Mosque, Peshawar.

The cabinet sanctioned an additional sum of Rs39.55 million for package one under the revised PC-I for the construction of 1,320 flats at PHA Housing Scheme Jalozai District Noswhera under the Prime Minister’s Naya Pakistan Housing Program and Rs818.668 million for the overall project.

The minister said that the cabinet okayed the allocation of Rs4,300 million as non-ADP scheme for the designing and construction of irrigation channels of Mohmand Dam Hydropower Project.

A sum of Rs200 million, he said, will be provided during the current year.

The project on completion will irrigate around 16,000 acres of land as well as generate 800 MW hydropower.

He said that the cabinet approved the appointment of secretary Auqaf, Hajj, Religious & Minority Affairs as chief administrator Auqaf.

Yousafzai added that the cabinet accorded approval to the declaration and subsequent withdrawal of fire emergency declared in Tribal sub-division Drazinda, District DI Khan by the deputy commissioner under the National Disaster Management (Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa) (Amendment) Act, 2019.

The cabinet, he said, also declared flood emergency in Tank and DI Khan districts.

The chief minister directed the deputy commissioners to process cases for flood emergency if required to ensure prompt relief and rehabilitation activities.

The cabinet, he further said, gave go-ahead for provision of land for setting up Rescue-1122 stations at Tehsil Paharpur, DI Khan.

The meeting also accorded approval to extending Water & Sanitation Services Company Abbottabad’s jurisdiction to 23 more village, neighbourhood councils and approved the dissolution of the Board of Directors of WSSC Bannu.