HYDERABAD, Jan 31: District Naib Nazim Zafar Rajput has said committees of the district council will be constituted to monitor ongoing development works, utilization of funds and ensure public participation in development activities.

He was presiding over a meeting held at the Shahbaz Hall to review utilization of a grant given to the district government under the Sindh Devolved Social Service Programme (SDSSP) during 2004-05. Officers of provincial and district governments and Asian Development Bank representative Linda Arthur attended the meeting.

The naib nazim said the Sindh government had released Rs104 million to the district government under the SDSSP to improve existing health, education and water and sanitation services at the district and taluka-level.

He said the district government, following guidelines provided by the provincial support unit under this head, had sanctioned sectoral allocations under which 13 schemes of the health sector amounting to Rs43.594 million, 14 of the education sector amounting to Rs50.206 million and seven schemes of various NGOs and private organizations amounting to Rs10.639 million had been approved by the district development committee.

He said more than 90 per cent funds allocated under the SDSSP had been utilized till December 2005 and expressed the hope that the remaining amount would be utilized within a month.

Mr Rajput told the meeting that the district planning and development department had prepared an annual sectoral plan for 2005-06 under guidelines of the provincial government in which capacity building of different organizations in health, education and water and sanitation sectors would be enhanced.

Provincial head of SDSSP Kazi Kabeer underlined importance of women’s participation in development activities and said at least 20 per cent representation of women should be ensured in the proposed council committees.

He said the Sindh government was working to reduce the gender gap prevailing in the society and had decided to have at least two women representatives in each budget and development committee.

He gave an assurance that more funds would be allocated to the district government for implementing its new sectoral plans.