Best foot forward: CM orders timely completion of development schemes

Khattak wants progress to be visible; says complacency will not be tolerated.

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has instructed secretaries of various provincial departments to speed up work on welfare and development schemes to ensure their timely completion.

Khattak chaired a meeting at the cabinet room of the Civil Secretariat to review mid-term progress of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) on Wednesday.

“Action will be taken against officials who failed to achieve their targets,” he warned.

The CM ordered the release of Rs1 billion for the agriculture sector, Rs3 billion for road construction, Rs500 million for the education department, Rs1.8 billion for the health department, Rs1 billion for public health engineering, Rs5 billion for the energy and power sector, Rs1.8 billion for irrigation, Rs2 billion for local government and Rs1 billion in additional funds for security arrangements.

Khattak was briefed on the progress of development schemes in different departments.

He directed officials to not only point out hurdles in the schemes, but also take steps to remove them so that progress is visible.

He directed ministers and secretaries to hold a meeting every 15 days in their respective departments to ensure that all resources are used in a timely and transparent manner.

“This way, targets can be achieved,” he stressed. Khattak assured there would be no lack of resources for schemes of public interest. The chief minister also instructed secretaries and ministers to ensure minimum wage was paid to workers according to the amount prescribed by the government.

He stressed on the successful implementation of the Billion Trees Tsunami Drive. The CM directed the immediate release of available funds and provision of resources for the execution of schemes and assured that the government would provide additional funds on a case-to-case basis.

Khattak ordered the Communication and Works department secretary to visit under-construction roads in the provincial capital. He also issued new timeframes for the completion of work. He said roads should be completed within nine months, buildings within a year and flyovers within six months.

Minister for Finance Muzaffar Syed, Minister for Health Shahram Khan Tarakai, Shah Farman, Muhammad Atif Khan, the chief secretary and provincial secretaries attended the meeting.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 6^th, 2015.