Prime Minister Azad Jammu and Kashmir Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan has regretted that development projects could not provide benefits to deprived class of the state.
"The poor and backward areas have still been in quandary and development programmes could not change the conditions of poor as the development schemes were only on papers not on ground" he admitted in his address to the workshop organised on the launching of 2.176 billion Azad Jammu and Kashmir Community Development Programme (AJKCDP) here at a local hotel.
AJK Senior Minister Syed Mumtaz Ali Gillani, Minister Forest Mufti Mansoor-ur-Rehman, Minister Local Government and Rural Development, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Raja Nisar Ahmed Khan, Minister Auqaf Chaudhry Muhammad Aziz, Minister Food and Co-operatives Raja Abdul Qayyum Khan, secretaries, heads and representatives of the government departments were present on the occasion.
Prime Minister said that annually 13 billion are spent on establishment for the spending of Rs 2 billion development budget.
He said that the figures will tell the truth if annual budgets be divided on 3 million population of AJK.
He admitted that the far-flung areas of the state are as backward as they were in 1947.
He said that roads which were built under Northern Resources Management Programme funded by World Bank and other international donors five years ago are not on the ground.
"The poor is still poor today because deprived class could not reap the benefits of our development process in wake of mismanagement and lack of interest in the well being of poor masses of the state" Premier added while speaking candidly.
He urged the bureaucrats to make the development programmes successful and refrain from receiving kickbacks through hiring of consultants for every small and big project.
"How much development has been achieved, how much the poverty is reduced, this is the question which I asked to all of you." Prime Minister asked the bureaucrats present on the occasion.
He urged that we all have to work sincerely to make the small region of AJK, a model of development.
Expressing satisfaction over the maximum utilisation of development funds, he said that 42% development funds have been spent during the current fiscal year.