NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani has directed for 33 percent increase in the next annual development programme (ADP) for the rapid completion of ongoing and new schemes throughout the province. These schemes were a public welfare and should be completed on priority basis.
The new schemes were public demand driven one and being initiated for the progress and welfare of the people and the province. This he stated in the meeting at Chief Minister's House Peshawar on Thursday. Minister Planning and Development Inayatullah, Ex-Chief Secretary Abdullah, Chief Secretary Riaz Noor, ACS Dastagir Khan, Secretary Finance, P&D and other attended the meeting.
The meeting thoroughly reviewed the ADP funded schemes. The chief minister said that the provincial government has already injected Rs 2 billion additional funds for the expeditious completion of ongoing schemes. He said that funding the ongoing schemes was not the real problem. However, the real problem was the capacity of the departments for the judicious utilisation of resources for the in-time completion of all the projects.
Provincial government would wish to see the cent percent targets were achieved. The access release of Rs 2 billion was justifiable, as it would change the entire developmental outlook of the province. The entire taxation system needs revamping, he told the meeting.
The chief minister directed for a mechanism to keep the prices of essential commodities well under control. The government did not stop developmental work on schemes initiated in the previous areas. These were prioritised and completed with the spirit of public service.
The provincial government managed arranging funding for such schemes, which was an accommodative gesture, never witnessed in the past. "We set a new trend for the development of the province and hopefully it will go on in future for the public interest and development of the province," Durrani maintained. His government returned back expensive loans and the tail-end result would be that the province would get a relief of Rs 30 billion in terms of reduced mark-up on these expensive loans.
The provincial government gets its share in the developmental strategy. That was not enough otherwise still we believe something is better than nothing. There would be small dames irrigational and drinking water facilities and by the end of this fiscal year the people would see for themselves the completions of schemes in the stipulated period. The chief minister wished to make a purchasing committee for medicine in all tertiary and district headquarters hospitals.
The districts would be directed not to utilise the funds for medicines in some other sectors and the use of fund meant for medicines should be transparent. We would also look to the Zakat funding for the hospitals and would rationalise them.
The meeting also debated the ongoing projects and the once to be completed in the current fiscal year. The meeting also debated the spending and receipts and the provincial share in the federal receipts, the expected increase in the salaries of the government servants.
The sanctions of posts in police, education, health departments etc. The meeting was further told about the donors who would inject resources to support the budgetary expenditure and initiation of new schemes for public welfare.