MUZAFFARABAD, Oct 27: A group of 15 people, most of them government officials, will visit Thailand early next month to have an “interaction with stakeholders working on World Bank- funded projects in various developing countries,” Dawn learnt here on Saturday.

The trip is being made as part of pre-execution steps of the World Bank funded Community Infrastructure Services Programme, a $27.8 million project aimed at “providing basic amenities in the rural and urban areas of the Azad Kashmir”.

Of the $27.8 million, the AJK government and the community would contribute $4 million and $3.8 million, respectively.

Less than half of the group members fall in the category of genuine stakeholders, whereas the rest used their positions to get their names included in the list of the participants, sources said.

They said that some relevant quarters had suggested the Bank that the invitees should comprise two to three people from each community, field workers and LG & RD department officials.

However, according to sources, the top government officials who missed no chance to undertake foreign tours at state expenses prevailed upon the WB officials and got their names included.

Sources said that earlier, the Bank had sent a list of the names of 12 officials, including the previous chief secretary Naeem Khan, and accordingly a notification was issued.

However, after the transfer of the chief secretary, the list was amended and revised, with addition of three more names. A new notification was issued the other day but circulated to a limited number of people to keep it secret, the sources said.

According to the new list, those who would fly to Bangkok on November 3 are chief secretary Shahid Rafi, finance secretary Mukhtar Ahmed Khan, accountant general A. U. Raza, physical planning and housing chief Khalid Javed, LG&RD department secretary Sardar Siddique Khan, director Mushtaq Awan, Local Government Board secretary Khwaja Ghulam Rasool, superintending engineer of the LG&RD department Zaheer Gardezi, deputy project director Ghulam Murtaza, training coordinator Mohammed Sardar Khan, deputy director of the community development Mohammed Hamayun Khan, Environment Protection Agency director Dr Asif Shah, ministry for Kashmir affairs’ deputy secretary Noorullah, AJK Assembly member Noreen Arif and an NGO worker, Shagufta Mustafa, who is also wife of an LG&RD official.

The travelling cost of the group would be borne by the CISP project, while according to a LG&RD official other expenses, including boarding and lodging, would be met by the Bank from some other head.

Recently the finance secretary and the accountant general were barred by the AJK High Court from undertaking a foreign tour from the budget of the AJK Assembly to three Western countries. That tour was aimed at “highlighting Kashmir cause and study the role and functions of the parliamentary committees of those countries”.