Caretaker KP Govt Demands Center To Pay Special Focus On Newly Merged Districts

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has demanded the Center to pay special focus on newly merged districts of the province in the upcoming 13th national five-year plan 2024-29

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Jan, 2024) The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has demanded the Center to pay special focus on newly merged districts of the province in the upcoming 13th national five-year plan 2024-29.

According to an official handout issued here on Wednesday, the KP Caretaker Minister for Newly Merged Districts Affairs, Industries, Commerce and Technical Education, Dr. Aamer Abdullah, has forwarded the suggested projects to the planning commission Islamabad relating to communication and works, trade and Information Technology sector, industrial development, energy, agriculture, irrigation, health, education and other sectors in NMDs that will be included in PSDP under five years new plan.

In proposed communication projects included the construction of Peshawar, Mohmand, Bajaur and Timergara four line Motorway. Similarly, maintenance and rehabilitation of existing trade corridors in NMDs, at a cost of Rs.10 billion is also included in these proposals.

The caretaker provincial minister has proposed the establishment of Axle Load Control Regime on the provincial highways to protect the roads from overloading in five places of the merged districts at a cost of Rs.500 million, while at a cost of Rs. 1 billion on important national and provincial highways Service/Rest areas would be developed.

Furthermore, all the merged districts would be connected with each other through highways.

The provincial minister also proposed to include the construction of Peshawar, Tirah, Orakzai and Para Chinar road for promotion of tourism and connectivity, while 40 km of Sara Roga Sarwaki road, 120 km of Wana Jandola road and Wana Tank road. The construction of 180 km Pezo Makeen Mangalotai road to connect the region with Dera Ismail Khan Motorway, the construction of new road to connect the coal extraction site areas in Orakzai with district headquarters, construction of an alternative road to Kuram for communication link to the province through Tirah and Orakzai have also been included in proposals.

Likewise, the minister also proposed for national plan that fiber optic connectivity would be provided in 8 district headquarters and 25 tehsil headquarters to ensure availability of better internet facilities in the merged districts.

Similarly, for the promotion of border trade, the establishment of new border markets and border cities centers along with the set up of customs stations in the districts of Khyber, Bajaur, Mohmand, and South Waziristan Upper and Lower are also included in the proposals of the caretaker minister.

The provincial minister has also proposed to provide energy to the populace from off-grade solar system at a cost of Rs. 30 billion in all the merged districts, while the construction of Bara Dam Khyber, Larazan Dam Tank, Khan Mir Kalay Dam Orakzai and Tank-Zam Dam are also included in these proposals.

Moreover, the caretaker minister has given proposal of solarization of all basic health unites in these districts and promotion of macro hydro power or solar energy development in these areas by giving incentives to the private sector.

Besides other proposed projects, the caretaker minister has forwarded various projects worth of billion of rupees related to industrial development, minerals, agriculture, irrigation, forestry, vocational education and training, health, tourism and many other sectors of social development for NMDs and that should be include in five year plan of Federal government.

APP/aqk