K-P to set up complaint cell for govt depts

CM announces ‘Khushal Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’ programme with special focus on merged districts

PESHAWAR:

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Caretaker Chief Minister Justice (retd) Syed Arshad Hussain Shah has said that a complaint cell would soon be established at the Chief Minister’s House with the purpose of monitoring public service delivery as well as to receive public complaints about provincial government departments and institutions. He said immediate action would be taken to redress public grievances and that negligent officials would be held accountable.

Any negligence or inefficiency in the performance of official duties, especially in public service delivery, would not be tolerated at any cost, he added.

The chief minister also said that the provincial government would launch the ‘Khushal Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’ programme very soon under which special attention would be given to the merged districts.

He termed the fast track development of newly merged tribal districts the top most priority of his government and said that, despite financial issues, the caretaker provincial government was not only committed to bringing the newly merged areas on a par with the developed parts of the province but was also taking practical measures to that effect.

“The government will go all out to complete ongoing developmental projects and other public welfare activities in the merged areas within the stipulated time lines,” he said, adding that the war against terrorism had badly affected the tribal belt and further exacerbated their decades-long deprivation.

He said people living in the tribal belt needed special attention for their development and for the alleviation of their deprivation.

He was addressing the 20^th Annual Scholarships and Awards Distribution Ceremony organized by the WANA Welfare Association here at the Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar on Saturday.

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He paid rich tribute to the welfare activities of the association, especially its efforts in promoting education in Wana and other parts of merged districts and said that undoubtedly, serving humanity was a noble deed, and the manner in which WANA Welfare Association has undertaken the welfare of the vulnerable segments of society at its own expense was truly admirable.

The chief minister said that the provincial government was also fully committed to the wellbeing of the people of merged districts and was working practically for this purpose. Similarly, under the provincial government’s Human Resource Export Strategy, youth of the province, especially of merged areas, would be imparted with education in IT-based courses as per the demands of the modern market so as to enable them to have better job opportunities abroad.

Our ultimate goal is to empower the youth economically as well as enable them to play their role as responsible citizens in the national development and prosperity, he remarked. On this occasion, the chief minister expressed his commitment to taking pragmatic steps to deal with the situation arising from a lowering of the underground water table in Wana, saying that he would personally visit Wana to review the situation.

He directed the concerned government authorities to immediately start a survey in order to determine the water issues in Wana so that practical steps could be initiated without any delay.

On this occasion, the chief minister also appealed to the tribal people and social organizations to play their role in the anti-polio campaign in their respective areas.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 10^th, 2023.