New initiatives: PTI chairman promises a ‘different’ LG system

Groundbreaking ceremony held for renovation of two power stations in Swat.

KALAM:

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan has said a local government system different from that in General Ziaul Haq’s regime will be established in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) soon.

Imran announced this while talking to elders in Kalam, Swat at the groundbreaking ceremony for two power stations on Monday.

“The aim of our local government system is to ensure representatives take their own decisions,” said the PTI chairman. “They will undertake and run their institutions themselves, as done by nations in developed states.”

Gul Zada, an elder from Kalam, expressed gratitude on behalf of the people of Kalam. “We are in dire need of electricity, but despite a high potential for producing power, we are deprived of it,” he said. “Our area will witness a new chapter of economic and social uplift with the help of electricity.”

A 200 KW power station in Kalam has remained closed since 2008 due to a technical fault. It was further damaged by the floods in 2010. In the initiated scheme, it will be upgraded to produce 400 KW and will capacitate 901 connections in the area.  The project is set to be completed in six months.

A 400 KW power station at Ashrun has also been closed after it was damaged by the floods.  This station, set to be completed in one year, will be upgraded to produce 1 megawatt of power with the capacity of 2,703 connections.

Both power stations have been handed to Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP) for upgrades funded by the support of the EU-Peace Project initiated in the Malakand division.

Addressing the gathering, Chief Minister Pervez Khattak said the PTI-led collation would ensure the change in K-P would be felt and seen soon.

“The Kalam Road broken down by floods will be immediately repaired in order to revive tourism. An equal education system, in which the ratio of students to teachers is 40 to one, will be implemented in the province,” said Khattak, while urging people to report incidents of corruption to a complaint cell, which is to be established soon.

Meanwhile, SRSP Chairman Shoaib Sultan Khan spoke about organising local communities. “There are 2.6 million households in K-P, and if the government allocates the budget, SRSP will organise them.”

Earlier, SRSP Chief Executive Officer Masoodul Mulk gave a briefing on SRSP’s vision, mission and working approach.  “The micro-hydel power stations (MHP) will be profitable, sustainable and non-exploitive,” he said, adding they would also generate a surplus which would be invested in the communities’ social development.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27^th, 2013.