KP Govt accelerates work on 20 sectors with Rs59bln outlay in merged areas.

PESHAWAR -- The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has expedited 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 ie 2020-23 of the AIP.

Officials in KP government told reporter that Rs 29 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 enrollment, reconstruction of infrastructure, solarization 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 Rs 10,109 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 Rs 1100 million and three agriculture projects worth...