Uplift projects in tribal districts: Senate panel irked by non-implementation of recommendations

ISLAMABAD: A Senate panel, on Tuesday, expressed disappointment at the non-implementation of its recommendations by various departments with regard to development and uplift projects in tribal districts.

The Senate Standing Committee on States and Frontier Regions met with Senator Hilalur Rehman in the chair to discuss various agenda items, including discussion on the committee’s recommendations concerning the operationalisation of the Type-D hospital in village Shindad, Jawaki, FR Kohat.

Senator Shamim Afridi expressed his strong discontent regarding the lack of implementation of the committee’s recommendations. Afridi was joined by other members who also noted the Health department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s failure to address this issue for almost three years.

The senior official of the KP Health department, informed the committee about ongoing efforts to make Shindad hospital functional, including the posting of three medical officers and the conversion of the hospital to solar power, along with the installation of beds.

Following deliberations, the committee directed the Special Secretary Health Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to ensure the hospital’s full functionality within a week including installation of X-ray machines, deployment of doctors and maternity home at the hospital.

The meeting also discussed in detail the appointment of 492 nursing staff in the health sector under the Accelerated Implementation Programme (AIP) in the merged districts. The committee was informed by the KP Health department that out of 2,390 applications received for 481 seats, 348 nurses are presently serving.

The committee emphasized on merit-based appointments and urged the swift appointment of all the entitled nursing staff. It also recommended appropriate measures for filling the vacant positions.

The committee was also briefed on the progress on the regularisation of 1,774 contract employees of the Health department. Senator Dost Muhammad Khan questioned the discrepancy in regularizing employees across departments within the merged districts.

The provincial Health department officials assured that these employees would be regularized after inquiry and verification with a target to achieve this by November. The committee requested a breakdown of all 1,774 employees for their review and suggestions in the next meeting.

The committee also deliberated upon a matter related to the recognition of Faiz Muhammad Ghaznavi, the grandson of Nawab of Junagadh, Mahabat Khan, as heir. Faiz Muhammad Ghaznavi himself was present during the committee meeting. After hearing the arguments presented by both sides, the committee resolved to convene an in-camera meeting to deliberate on this matter further.

Representatives from the Relief and Rehabilitation department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa updated the committee on the utilisation of Rs 1.5 billion allocated by the federal government for the repair of public houses in the South Waziristan district.

The officials clarified that the Finance Division has conveyed to the provincial department that the matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Planning and Development department. The committee decided to involve the Finance Division, Planning and Development department and Finance Division Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in addressing this issue.

The meeting was attended by Senators, Bahramand Khan Tangi, Dost Mohammad Khan, Gardeep Singh, Sania Nishtar, Syed Mohammad Sabir Shah, Shamim Afridi, and Haji Hidayat Allah while senior officials from the Ministry of Safron, provincial Health department, and other relevant departments also participated in the meeting.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023