ISLAMABAD, April 6: The government has approved Rs6 billion for a Quetta water supply project, out of which Rs300 million have already been released to cover the cost of its first phase.

The Nazim of Quetta city district government, Mohammad Rahim Kakar, said this while talking to APP at Balochistan House here.

The governor Balochistan has also announced a special package of Rs100 million for various development schemes in the city, he added.

The Nazim said the city government had completed various welfare and development schemes at a cost of Rs300 million during the last fiscal year.

He said the schemes included repair and surfacing of roads, rehabilitation of school buildings, setting up of water supply schemes, education and health.

In the education sector, Rs65 million have been spent on the establishment of new schools and maintenance and upgradation of school buildings, he said.

In the health sector, Rs75 million were spent on the treatment of poor patients last year, he added.

A monitoring system for each project has been put in place to prevent wastage of precious money drawn from the national exchequer, he said.

Every penny is being spent on welfare projects, and this will be ensured that the practice continued in future as well, he said.

Mr Kakar said 66 union councils had been established under the local government system in Quetta.

“There are 1,400 councillors, 400 of them women, who are contributing significantly towards the development effort,” he added.

About law and order, he said it had improved with the coordination between the law enforcing agencies and the local councillors.

Mr Kakar disclosed that there were about 7,000 drug addicts in the city.

“I have held meeting with the official of Anti-Narcotics Board for medical treatment and permanent rehabilitation of drug addicts,” he added.

He said the local bodies system had brought about a revolution in all spheres of life.

“People are in favour of continuing with this system as it is facilitating them at the grass-roots level,” he said.

Mr Jamali’s election as prime minister would go a long way in ending the sense of deprivation in Balochistan province, he said while replying to a question.

He expressed the confidence that the Jamali government would take concrete measures for the development of the province.

He said the proposed Quetta-Lahore Karakuram Express should be run between Quetta and Rawalpindi to facilitate people of Balochistan proceeding to the federal capital.

He also said that the Gwadar project would bring prosperity to the region. He stressed that the local population should be provided job opportunities that this project had opened. —APP