KP govt finalises schemes for ADP

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has finalized all the ongoing and newly proposed schemes to be reflected in the Annual Development Programme (ADP) of the upcoming fiscal year 2024-25.

According to a handout, the concluding round of four days-long meetings was held here at the Chief Minister’s House. Chief Minister Sardar Ali Amin Khan Gandapur chaired the meeting.The chief minister made policy decisions and issued instructions to implement the proposed development programme in an efficient and befitting manner.

Addressing the participants, Gandapur said the new ADP had been drafted in the best public interest instead of any political expediency. He said it would consist of such feasible projects that could be completed within the stipulated timelines.

“Ongoing development projects of public welfare would be completed on priority”, he said and added that special focus would be given to improving the public services delivery in the far-flung areas, including the merged districts.

Of other priority areas under the new development budget, the chief minister said that green energy initiatives would be undertaken to deal with the prevailing energy crisis in the country.Under it, he explained, solarization of all public offices, educational institutions and other outlets would be carried out whereas a new roadmap would be provided to utilize available hydropower resources efficiently, thereby making this province self-sufficient in power production.

Gandapur said the work would be initiated on establishing a province-owned transmission line, grid station and tariff system.He maintained that providing employment opportunities to youth, promoting industrial activities and attracting maximum investment to potential sectors would be among the priorities of the provincial government.

The chief minister said locally produced electricity would be provided to the industrial units at cheaper rates in addition to providing a conducive environment for investment in the province.He made it clear that law and order, education, health, and food security were the priority sectors of the provincial government.

“The police force would be equipped with the latest arms and equipment, thereby enabling them to effectively deal with the prevailing law and order situation in the province,” said Gandapur.

Similarly, he said, self-sufficiency in agricultural commodities was another priority area of the government. “Plans are in the pipeline for constructing small and large dams at feasible sites to ensure efficient use of available water resources for this purpose,” he added.

The chief minister said innovative research techniques and modern farming would be promoted to increase per acre yield of agriculture commodities in the province.“The asset management system will be introduced to have better management of public properties, and Minerals Development and Management Company would be established to exploit the precious mineral resources,” he said, adding this would resultantly increase the revenue stream of the province.

The chief minister termed a significant increase in the forest cover of the province as inevitable to deal with the negative impacts of climate change. “The scientific management system is needed to ensure the preservation of existing forests in addition to promoting large-scale new plantations for that purpose,” he added.He said that the justice system would be strengthened and the number of judges increased so as to expeditiously dispose of the cases pending for years.