CDWP approves Rs40bn for uplift of 20 vulnerable districts.

ISLAMABAD -- The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Saturday approved Rs40 billion projects for the uplift of 20 vulnerable districts of Pakistan, besides addressing disparity in economic development in the country.

According to a statement issued by the ministry, the decision was taken during a meeting chaired by Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal.

The Planning Ministry has launched the programme, which is comprising of 5 years (2022-27) and would be completed on 50 percent cost-sharing basis by the federal government and provincial governments.

Speaking on the occasion, Ahsan Iqbal said that this is the first of its kind project in the economic history of Pakistan where the federal government was undertaking a national intervention to uplift the vulnerable districts and address disparity in economic development in the country.

'During our last tenure, we completed the Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index survey with the help of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which for the first-time mapped poverty at district levels across the country,' he added.

Identified on the basis of scores in this MPI, the selected 20 vulnerable districts include 11 districts from Balochistan, 5 from Sindh, 3 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 1 from Punjab, he said adding that many...