Sindh Chief Secretary Fazlur Rehman has directed all provincial secretaries and DCOs to spare no effort in ensuring timely completion of ongoing development schemes and promote departmental liaison to achieve the targets. He was addressing the Secretaries Committee at his office here on Saturday.
In a briefing on the occasion, Additional Chief Secretary Development Ghulam Sarwar Khehro told that Rs 32 billion - 24 billion at provincial and 8 billion at district level - was allocated for ongoing development schemes of provincial departments and districts including ADP schemes for 2006-07.
He pointed out that Rs 15 billion was released for provincial schemes and Rs 5 billion for district schemes, out of which Rs 7 billion and Rs 3 billion was spent respectively during the last eight months.
He said the number of schemes at provincial level stood at 1,123 and 4,882 at district level. Under the foreign aided projects, he said, seven projects of Sindh On-Farm Water Management project of agriculture department, Sindh Road Sector Development Project of works and communication department, Women Health and Reproductive Health Project, Enhancement HIV/AIDS Control programme of health department, Decentralised Elementary Education project (DEEP) of education department and Sindh Rural Development project of local government department were under implementation for which Rs 2 billion had been allocated.
The meeting was also briefed about watercourses improvement programme and chief secretary paid compliments to agriculture department and DCOs for their good performance.
The chief secretary exhorted the officials to pursue an effective line of action for having regular funding for road sector development, irrigation schemes and water supply and drainage projects. In the meeting a committee, headed by Secretary Planning and Development, Muhammad Hashim Leghari was set up which will work for adjustment of those employees in districts who belonged to defunct or merged departments under devolution.
It was decided that DCOs and EDOs revenue will monitor the issuance of pass books for providing loans to farmers by Agriculture Development Bank. The meeting was informed that a total of four polio cases were reported from all over the country out of which three were reported from Sindh and one from NWFP. Chief Secretary directed that all-possible anti-polio measure be taken. The DCOs were directed to ensure lining of at least two watercourses in each district every week. They were also directed to ensure payment of Hesco dues.