Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim on Wednesday said that there would be effective monitoring of development schemes in the communication sector on which six billion rupees would be spent during the current financial year.
The chief minister was presiding over a meeting held at the Chief Minister House to review projects related to education, agriculture, irrigation, communication, mineral development, auqaf and forest, ongoing in the province.
Those who attended the meeting included Education Minister Dr Hamida Khuhro, Irrigation Minister Nadir Akmal Leghari, Population Welfare Minister Syed Pupo Shah, Minister for Women Development Dr Saeeda Malik, Minister for Works and Services Syed Sadaruddin Shah Rashidi, Law Minister Chaudhry Iftikhar Ahmed, Minister for Auqaf Mir Manzoor Panhwar, Minister for Mineral Resources Irfanullah Khan Marwat, Adviser on Agriculture Ghulam Murtaza Jatoi, adviser on Forest Syed Ejaz Shah Shirazai, Adviser on Special Education Syed Manzoor Ali Shah, Sindh Chief Secretary Fazlur Rehman, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Ayub Shaikh and other concerned secretaries and departmental representatives.
He said that a network of development schemes was being laid to benefit people and to lay the foundation of infrastructure that would facilitate industrial activities in the province. The chief minister has ordered to prepare a master plan for the development of mineral resources in Sindh.
Rahim said that the prime objective of these schemes was to ensure solution of basic problems of the people who wanted proper communication system, proper arrangement of educational institutions, proper resources for agricultural activities and irrigation convenience for their land.
The spokesman of the Chief Minister House briefing Business Recorder said that 2900 closed down schools were being made functional forthwith under the instructions of the chief minister.
He said that this was the beginning and more such schools would be made functional in due course of time. The process of identifying non-functional schools is going on and would be completed on priority basis. He said the government was determined to make a dent in the education system of the province. Quoting chief minister the spokesman said that he told the meeting that 12 percent of the total development allocation for the year 2006-07 had been allocated for education in Sindh.
The chief minister has asked to prepare a comprehensive data on education and educational facilities in the province. It would begin from the public sector institutions and would subsequently include private sector institutions. Arrangements to introduce English at the primary level should be given, the chief minister said. The chief minister has allocated Rs 10.7 million for the Urs of Hazrat Sachal Sarmust and Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar.