Staff Reporter
Peshawar
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Labour and Culture, Shaukat Yousafzai on Wednesday said provincial government is committed to bringing deprived and backward areas including merged districts in mainstream by providing all basic facilities and initiating mega development projects.
Presiding over a meeting here to review development projects in merged district Kurram, he said the administrative officers deployed in the backward and merged districts have great responsibility on their shoulder to ensure timely completion of the development projects in large public interest.
Addressing the administration officers, he advised them to perform their job with dedication, honesty and resolve the issues of masses on priority keeping in view the local traditions. Deputy Commissioner Kurram Afaq Wazir briefed the meeting about the development projects. He said the government has approved Rs 58 billion under the head of annual development program for district Kurram including 22 billion under the head of Accelerated Implementation Program (AIP), 23 billion for annual development program and other projects.
Similarly Rs 2.9 billion were allocated for health sector and Rs 1.1 billion for education sector, he informed the meeting and added that under the supervision of Pak Army 199 projects of different natures public welfare have been completed while work on 146 projects were underway.
The Minister directed the line department to fill the vacant posts especially in health and education sectors in the district without any delay to address the sense of deprivation among the people. He also directed timely completion of male and female colleges and technical colleges for providing higher education facilities to youth in their own district.
Shaukat noted that district Kurram is known for Boarder trader, forest, agriculture, fruit production, adding, there is dire need to pay attention in these sectors besides promotion of tourism and development of road infrastructure. The meeting was informed that at present, work on 103 kilometer long roads have been completed in district Kurram while 20 kilometer roads were under construction.
