Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ameer Haider Khan Hoti has asked Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani for directing Planning Commission to release funds for five schemes approved under Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) in Swat and Mardan. The chief minister has sought the intervention of the Prime Minister through writing a letter to him in this regard.
The schemes were approved and included in the PSDP for financial year 2010-11 with an allocation of Rs 130.788 million. Five schemes were for worst terrorism affected district Swat and one for Mardan. The projects were included establishment of spinning Common Facilitation Centre (CFC) at Islampur, Swat, Common Facilitation & Training Centre (CFTC) for Light Engineering cluster Mardan, establishment of women business development centre, Mingora, CFC for honey processing & packaging and silk cluster Swat.
The projects were proposed by Small & Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda), a premier institution of the government of Pakistan under the Ministry of Industries and Production. Federal government had already allocated a fund of Rs 130.788 million in Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) of the budget for the current financial year of 2010-11.
For the scheme of the establishment of spinning CFC at Islampur, Swat, which was a Rs 29.697 million, a fund of Rs 24.180 was allocated under PSDP, establishment of women business development centre, Mingora, a fund of Rs 11.67 million was allocated against the total cost of Rs 35.01 million, establishment of CFC, Rs 21.27 million against Rs 38.17 million and establishment of CFC for Silk Cluster, Swat Rs 48.25 million against the total cost of Rs 57.53 million.
For the establishment of CFTC for Light Engineering Cluster, Mardan, a fund of Rs 25.418 million was allocated against total cost of Rs 39.98 million. In the letter, the chief minister had appreciated the efforts of Smeda for cluster development and other initiatives, which were included technical up-gradation, establishment of common facilitation centres, access to finance for SME clusters, marketing support, improving human resource skills and awareness on international certification and regulations.
The authority, it said is focused on development of the areas being affected by terrorism and proposed various projects under PSDP on the instructions of the ministry for industries and production in collaboration with provincial government. The planning commission approved five projects in 2009, but no funds were released for starting these projects.
The chief minister has appreciated the efforts of the Prime Minister that bailed out Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from the crises due to the severe wave of terrorism that was followed by floods. The chief minister has requested the Prime Minister for further support by issuing directives to the Planning Commission to release funds for the five approved projects that would help result in economic development of the adversely affected areas of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.