18 February 2004	Wednesday	26 Zilhaj 1424

PESHAWAR, Feb 17: NWFP Chief Minister Akram Durrani has said that all the four chief ministers have vowed not to implement any project, including the Kalabagh Dam in their provinces without evolving a consensus on the contentious issue.

Responding to questions during his meeting with senior journalists of Karachi at the CM House here on Tuesday, the chief minister said that a feasibility report of Bhasha Dam was available which shows that its utility would be far more than the controversial Kalabagh Dam, as it would also prolong the life of the Tarbela Dam.

He said police order 2002 would be fully enforced soon after obstacles affecting its implementation are removed. He said that all the four chief ministers would meet again to finalise their recommendations before submitting it to the president.

Mr Durrani denied that his government was against the local government system. He said on the contrary the NWFP government wanted to see its successful implementation after the removal of difficulties being faced not only by NWFP but all the four provincial governments.

Giving examples he said that the responsibility for law and order was the provincial government's, but the police was under the control of the city nazims. Likewise, transfer and postings of the officials was creating confusion between the nazims and the provincial government. However, he said, all the four chief ministers had decided to submit a consensus formula to overcome the devolution problems.

He said it as a new system and due to the peculiar circumstances of each province, they were facing problems. Under the devolution the provinces had to be provided autonomy but before its implementation, the district government had been lined up under the federal government.

Mr Durrani said there was no contradiction and deviation from the principled stand of the Mutahida Majlise Amal having its coalition government in two provinces and playing role of the opposition in the centre.

"If one believed in democracy, formation of the government in the centre and provinces depended on the mandate of the people and it was not necessary that people should return only a single party to form the government in the centre and the provinces," he pointed out and gave the example of India where often the party in power in the centre did not have its own government in all provinces.

He warned that if the centre tried to enforce its will illegally in the provinces where MMA had its mandate, the central government would not be able to function and had to face the same music.

While denying that the NWFP government was following in the foot steps of the Taliban government by pursuing the Islamisation bill, Mr Durrani said that the bill was passed by the provincial assembly unanimously.

He said it was for the first time in the history of NWFP that every MPA, whether male or female, minority or majority, were provided Rs 5 million each for carrying out development work in their respective constituencies.

The chief minister said that the government was paying special attention towards improving the law and order situation, standard of education and removing illiteracy in the masses.

He recounted the measures being taken in this regard including setting up of an education commission and 100 per cent raise in education fund. Likewise, he said, the government had also increased the health budget by 100 per cent to provide better health care to people.

Giving details of the going development work the chief minister said that besides implementation of the 50MW power project, the Malakand III power project was being executed which would also generate 80MW electricity to help in irrigation of thousands of acres of land and provide electricity to industries at half the rate.

He said that the government was also working on a package for industrialisation by restoring facilities in Gadoon and setting up another industrial zone in Risalpur.

Mr Durrani said that the law and order situation in NWFP was far better than in the remaining three provinces in the country. However, steps were being taken to improve it further.

He said his government had followed a strict policy not to be blackmailed by outlaws who in the past were indulging in kidnapping for ransom and were compelling the tribal people to honour the agreement with the government of paying fine of Rs 5 million if found giving protection to outlaws.

In this connection he referred to the recent case of Punjab Minister Shahani who was kidnapped, but his government measures of building up the pressure on the kidnappers, forced them to realize the minister without any payment being made.

He said the government was contemplating action against all five persons involved in the kidnapping and also directed the tribe to pay the fine of Rs 5 million to the government for providing refuge to the kidnappers.

The chief minister said that if WAPDA was made to pay the share of Rs 170 million due to the province from the profit of power generation, more development work could be initiated to put the NWFP on the road to progress and prosperity.

Pointing out to the discovery of natural gas whose wells he had opened the other day, he said that these wells would producing much more gas than the entire need of the province.

He said he had invited industrialists from Karachi to come to NWFP to get advantage of the facilities made available to them for installing industrial units promising them full protection.

Earlier, he welcomed the interaction of journalists from other province and said that it would help in removing misgiving and to bring people closer to each other which would help in strengthening the bonds of unity among all four provinces. He said the NWFP government believed in love, affection and peace which was also the message of Islam.