PESHAWAR: Energy and Power Department, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stood first by utilising 98 percent released funds during the current fiscal year followed by roads and industrial sectors that stood second and third by utilising 92 percent and 89 percent utilisation respectively.
This was told during a high-level meeting held the other day here with Chief Minister Mahmood Khan in the chair, said official sources on Sunday.
Besides, Additional Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah, administrative secretaries of provincial departments and other relevant officials attended the meeting. The meeting reviewed the progress so for made on the projects under annual development plan of current financial year in addition to threadbare discussion on the initial draft of ADP for the next fiscal year.
Overall utilisation against the released funds remained 75 percent, which is 51 percent higher than the development expenditure made during last financial year.
Development process in different sectors has gradually improved over the last four years and dozens of development projects of public welfare have been completed and made functional as well whereas overall services delivery has also improved many folds across the province including newly merged areas. Significant achievements have been made in road sector of the province since 2018-19 till date as 1175 kilometres new roads have been constructed while 2639 kilometres existing roads were rehabilitated and 49 new bridges have also been constructed.
In the of Energy & Power sector the hydel generation, which was 120 MW in 2018 has been increased to 200 MW in 2022 while additional revenue of Rs2 billion has also been earned for the province per annum.
Similarly, 6491 mosques, 53 basic health units (BHUs), 8000 schools and 6650 households have been solarised. In the newly merged areas, 7 grid stations along with 200 kilometres transmission lines, 1500 feeders, 1050 Kilometres, 11 KV lines and over 1000 transformers have been installed.
Coverage of clean drinking water in the province has been increased from 61 percent in 2018 to 80 percent in 2022. Similarly, significant achievement have been made in the health sector of province and a number of development projects have been completed including Peshawar Institute of Cardiology, new OPD block at KTH, Women & Children Hospital Charsadda and Allied & Surgical Block at LRH. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has become the first province to roll out universal health coverage to every citizen whereas 1315 new beds have been added to the existing beds capacity of hospitals in the province.
The meeting was told that since 2018 the development budget of the province has increased from Rs114 billion in fiscal year 2018-19 to Rs210 billion in 2021-22 adding that preliminary, development budget worth Rs230 billion has been proposed for the upcoming fiscal year which would be the largest annual development plan of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The participants were also apprised of achievements made in different sectors over the last four years and was told that over 145,000 meters flood protection walls, 788,000 meters irrigation channels and 225 Km long Canal Petrol Roads were constructed across the province.
Similarly, 51 small dams, 95 check dams were constructed, 370 Irrigation Tube Wells installed and 48 No of Micro Hydel projects were completed. Sehat Card scheme has been extended to the entire population of the province and as a result 977,827 individuals have utilised Sehat Card Plus since November, 2020 till date.
In the health sector of the newly merged districts (NMDs), 3 Cat-D hospitals and 42 Community Health Centres have been completed whereas 10 hospitals in the remote areas have been operationalised under Public Private Partnership.
Similarly, express lines of electricity had been provided to five DHQs and one Cat-C hospital in merged areas in addition to provision of medical equipment including CT Scans to 7 DHQ hospitals and 17 Secondary Care Hospitals of merged districts.
Moreover 1803 project staff of NMDs was regularised. Similarly various health initiatives had been completed in the settled districts of the province including establishment of Regional Blood Centres in Swat, Abbottabad and DI Khan, free treatment to 30,000 cancer patients, establishment of Saidu College of Dentistry, upgradation of SINOR Swat and Women block at DHQ Mardan. Beside Fountain House comprising 140 beds had also been completed which is the first mental and psychiatric support hospital of the province.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022