The government of NWFP has announced an Annual Development Programme (ADP) for 861 development schemes, comprising 650 ongoing and 211 new schemes.
According to the budget speech of the Senior Minister for Planning and Power, Rahimdad Khan, who presented the provincial budget in the absence of Finance Minister, Mohammad Humayun Khan, the share of the provincial government in the ADP is Rs 32.546 billion, which is 20 per cent higher than the estimated ADP of the current financial year 2008-09 of Rs 27.148 billion.
The ADP of the next financial year also comprised of an estimated foreign assistance of Rs 6.644 billion.
The senior minister said that the federal government has assured its full co-operation with the provincial government and 30 development schemes have been initiated under special Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) in the province. Federal government would provide Rs 10.05 billion for these development schemes.
Beside, these development schemes several mega projects, including Gomal Zam Dam, Peshawar Southern Bye-pass Road would cost Rs 17 billion. The completion of these projects would bring a revolution of development and immediate employment opportunities would also be created in the province.
Health sector has been given special attention in the budget for financial year 2009-10 and a total of 108 schemes would be initiated in the health sector.
These schemes consist of 85 ongoing and 23 new projects, which would be completed at a cost of Rs 4.334 billion of which Rs 3649.156 million and Rs 684 million have been sanctioned for the ongoing and new schemes respectively. In education sector, 91 schemes included 58 ongoing and 33 new would be completed at a cost of Rs 6.06 billion. The schemes are included provision of funds for Pashto dictionary (Daryab), establishment of 150 new primary schools and construction of 500 new classrooms, upgradation of 120 primary and 100 middle schools and others.
While an amount of Rs 574.567 million would be earmarked for 47 ongoing and Rs 222.096 million for new schemes in the agriculture sector. The schemes of this sector are included the development of the farms of small farmers and making it more productive, improvement of irrigation channels, construction animal dispensary and extension of mobile dispensaries, initiation of pilot projects for increasing production of milk and meat, purchase of 100 bulldozers, construction of 65 water pools, 65 dams, 130 protective walls and 100 dug wells and installation of tube-wells. 115 development schemes, including 105 ongoing and 10 new, would be completed at a cost of Rs 5.137 billion.
The important schemes are included conversion Peshawar-Warsak road into a double carriage way, rehabilitation of Mardan-Swabi road till Shahbaz Garhi, construction of Akbarpura-Dalazak road, improvement of Sri Kot-Panian road, expansion of 650-kilometer roads and rehabilitation in different districts and provision of fund for construction of 12 bridges.
In building sector an estimated amount of Rs 856.421 million has been sanctioned for installation of cameras and scanners in prisons, construction of godowns for food items, provision of funds for construction of Frontier House in Gawadar, Balochistan and construction of Khan Abdul Wali Khan Mulfi-Complex in Civil Secretariat. Rs 201.632 million for forests, Rs 152.456 million for fisheries and Rs 92.760 million respectively have been earmarked for development schemes in these sectors.
Five projects worth Rs 21.777 million would be carried for the promotion of the industry of sericulture in the province, while nine schemes at a cost of Rs 40.138 million would be initiated for environment sector.
The provincial government has accorded higher priority to the transport sector that is why it has enacted an independent transport department. The aim of the department is to provide safe, reliable, affordable and environment-friendly transport system and ensure greater mobility of people and goods for the welfare of the people through economic growth and poverty reduction.
Towards the achievement of this goal Rs 419.500 million have been allocated for five schemes in the ADP out of which one is ongoing and four are new. Similarly, the government has also chalked out a programme to purchase 200 CNG buses and for implementation on the said programme, establishment of an administrative unit with an allocation of Rs 7 million is included in the ADP.
Likewise, Rs 400 million have been earmarked for purchase of land for the general truck stand to be completed under public-private partnership besides allocating Rs 2 million for computerisation of route permit system in the province.
For the promotion of tourism an amount of Rs 332.622 million has been allocated. The amount would be spent on 34 tourism projects out of which 23 are ongoing and 11 are new. Out of this amount Rs 80 million have been allocated for making the tourists spots more attractive.