The annual development budget of the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) has been increased by 22.8 percent for the current financial year and the total volume has reached to rupees four billion, while the donor agencies are also running a number of developmental schemes in the tribal belt.
This was told to the parliamentarians from Fata during a briefing here at Governor House on Tuesday.
The Governor NWFP Lieutenant General Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah (Retd) presided over the briefing. Those who attended the briefing were including Federal Minister for Local Bodies, Senator Muhammad Ajmal Khan, parliamentary secretary for privatisation, Dr Javaid Hussain while Senators Mian Sajjad Hussain, Engineer Rasheed Ahmad, Tahir Iqbal Orakzai and Pir Abdul Malik.
The members of the National Assembly present were Haji Munir Ahmad Orakzai, Dr Nasim Afridi and Noor-ul-Haq Qadri.
The parliamentarians from FATA were told that government has given much priority to education, health, agriculture and irrigation sectors in the annual development programme for the financial year 2004-05. They were also told about the efforts to utilise the natural resources to bring improvement in the social sector and increase the source of income.
The Senators and MNAs from tribal areas were told that the distribution of the sources has been made on the basis of population and areas. The 85 percent funds would be spent on the ongoing and remaining 15 percent have been sanctioned for initiating new projects.
The Additional Secretary Planning and Development Fata, Aftab Akbar Durrani given presentation regarding the annual development programme of the new financial year.
The meeting reviewed different developmental suggestions and also included the suggestions and proposals of the parliamentarians in this connection.
The Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah said that the purpose of the meeting was to take parliamentarians from Fata into confidence over the annual developmental programme and consult them on public welfare projects. However, he said that the proposals of the parliamentarians have been included in the developmental schemes.
In debate over education sector, the governor said that according to the new strategy the number of rooms at primary schools level would be increased to provide better education atmosphere for both boys and girls.
Regarding health sector, he termed the provision of modern instruments and other goods to big hospitals of the tribal belt a welcome step saying that during the new financial year the remaining hospitals would also be equipped with these facilities.
He said that during the current financial year the attention would be given to the appointment of the specialist doctors in these hospitals.
Syed Iftikhar said that agriculture has been kept in third priority area saying that tribal areas has sufficient capacity of increase in agricultural production. However, he said that it would require improvement in the irrigation system.
For this purpose, he told the meeting that work on a number of small dams have been started.
The Governor also stressed on the setting up of dairy forms in Fata and called for inclusion of private sector in it. He said that cattle has great demand in Afghanistan and Central Asian Republics, which would be meet through establishment of big dairy forms in different parts of the tribal belt.