PESHAWAR - The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has accelerated work on 20 sectors with a total outlay of Rs59 billion under multifaceted Accelerated Implementation Program (AIP) to quickly bring merged areas at par with developed parts of the country.
To accelerate development pace in merged areas, the government would spend Rs59 billion on 76 projects in 20 different sectors, including education, health, social welfare and social protection, auqaf, religious and minority affairs, drinking water and sanitation, agriculture, livestock, water management, mines and mineral, roads connectivity, urban development, energy and power, industry, environment and forest, sports, tourism and youth affairs, governance, rule of law, relief and rehabilitation, tribal led development and special implementation arrangements during first phase i.e. 2020-23 of the AIP. Officials in the KP government told media that Rs29 billion had already been released after approval of 76 different schemes for merged areas for the current fiscal year.
The provincial government has developed a 10 years phase wise multifaceted development program-Tribal Decade Strategy (TDS 2020-30) to speed up pace of development in these 20 sectors with special focus to socioeconomic and development sectors. These development programmes were primarily focusing on sustainable economic development, agriculture, forests, water management, health, education and infrastructure projects, which would be implemented in three phases i.e 2020-23, 2024-27 and 2008-2030 in erstwhile Fata.
In education sector, focus would be made on nine projects including provisions of scholarships to the talented tribal students, increase of students’ enrolment, reconstruction of infrastructure, solarisation of schools and establishment of schools and colleges with a proposed allocation of Rs 10,692 million during 2019-20.
In health sectors, eight projects worth Rs10, 109 million were proposed, including saving of maternal and infant lives, revamping of secondary hospitals, provision of medicines, vaccines, medical and tertiary hospital services. The tribal people are largely dependent on livestock and agriculture sectors for which the government has initiated work on four livestock projects costing Rs1100 million and three agriculture projects worth Rs1970 million during current fiscal year.
Similarly, five water management projects worth Rs3950 million, three mines and mineral projects of Rs850 million, strengthening of east-west connectivity in merged areas with proposed allocation of Rs5000 million, nine energy and power projects worth Rs3,418.640 million, three industrial projects of Rs1,200 million, nine sports, tourism and youth development projects worth Rs5,120million and three relief, rehabilitation and settlement projects with proposed allocation of Rs4,029.450 million would be completed with the assistance of the federal government.
As many as Rs13532.292 million have been approved by KP Govt for compensation to shopkeepers, petrol pumps and others relevant sectors of Miranshah bazaar of North Waziristan tribal district. The compensation process to all those whose shops, markets and petrol pumps were destroyed in Miranshah bazaar were expedited for which Rs 13532.292 million were approved to help tribesmen in its reconstruction.
The government would provide same compensation package to affectees of Miranshah’s bazaar as provided to affected shopkeepers of Mir Ali’s tehsil of North Waziristan.
The government has already distributed Rs4404.973 million among the affected people of Miranshah bazaar. International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) has showed willingness to make investment in projects related to alleviation of poverty and improvement in socio-economic lives of people in rural areas in KP. Rural Economic Transformation Project (REPT) has been prepared on which $100 million would be spent for which $50 million would be provided by IFAD for development projects in the province. These projects after completion would expedite pace of socioeconomic economic development and bring significant improvement in lives of tribal people.