PESHAWAR, Nov 12: The European Union-funded multi-million rupee Palas Conservation and Development Project (PCDP) would come to an end on Dec 31, 2004
, without achieving its objectives and leaving several schemes incomplete.
Involving a total investment of about Rs280 million, which included the provincial share of Rs38 million, the PCDP was launched in Nov 1998 under an agreement between the NWFP government and the EU.
The project was designed to promote sustainable use of natural resources and biodiversity conservation to protect natural habitat. Recent studies show that the area in which the EU-funded conservation project is being carried out, includes some 500 types of plants, 160 species of birds and 29 species of wild animals.
With a Rs247 million investment by the EU, the project was supposed to be completed in five years after the two sides signed the agreement in November 1998. However, the project executing agencies could not achieve their objectives within the set timeframe and failed to complete construction works even though the project was granted a one-year extension by the donor agency last year.
According to official record, the project started experiencing hiccups right from its begining. The first instalment of foreign funds was released by the donor agency in July 2001, after a lapse of 19 months since the two sides signed the agreement.
During the six-year period, about 45 per cent of the total estimated cost of the project could be utilized while the remaining funds which were to be used for the betterment of agriculture sector, livestock sector, health sector, bridges and road network and to introduce joint forest management system in the picturesque Palas valley to protect forest, remained unutilized.
Speaking at a Press conference here on Thursday, Provincial Minister for Revenue Maulana Asmatullah, who hails from the Kohistan district that houses the Palas valley, appealed to the EU to extend the term of the project by two more years.
He said that it was not possible to complete the project and achieve its objectives within five years in view of the difficult terrain and social barriers which were also responsible for the slow execution of the project.
He, however, said that delay in the release of funds by the donor agency was the main reason for non-completion of the project within the stipulated period. In accordance with terms and conditions of the agreement, he claimed, the five-year term of the project had not yet ended because the donor agency released first tranche from its funds in July 2001 as a result of which the five-year term of the project would end in 2006.
Hence, the donor agency's decision to wind up the project, because of changes in its policy, without fulfilling its commitments as per the agreement was against principles of justice.
The Palas valley, he said, lacked basic facilities and the people were leading a miserable life because of successive governments' inability to pay due attention to lay down a road network, construct health facilities and educational institutions for a population of more than 60,000 inhabitants. Moreover, he said, the project executing agencies were not responsible for the non-completion of the project in time.
