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KARACHI, July 31: The Sindh Rural Development Project (SRDP) will be redesigned to make it more beneficial for the people of the rural areas. Sindh Minister for Local Government, Katchi Abadis and Spatial Development Mohammad Hussain Khan issued these directives while presiding over a joint meeting of the SRDP, Sindh Development Social Services Programme (SDSSP) and the Decentralisation Support Programme (DSP) at his office here on Tuesday. He observed that the wide scope of the project was one of the reasons for its slow progress.
The minister said the donor of the programme – the Asian Development Bank -- would be approached with the redesigned proposal for early release of funds. The infrastructural development of the rural areas was on the priority list of the government and this project was vital in this regard, he added.
Mohammad Hussain said town officers (planning) would be recruited for all 119 town municipal administrations (TMAs) of the province, on a contract basis. He asked for the early placement of advertisement in newspapers. He said the provincial government was giving priority for capacity building of the TMAs and providing assistance for enhancing their resources.
He further said the TMAs of the province would be provided with a fire tender, a tractor trolley and a refuse van to enable them to meet with day-to-day sanitation issues and any fire eventuality in their respected areas. This project is estimated to cost Rs593 million, he said, adding that the district headquarters TMAs and other big towns would be provided with an additional fire engine.
Discussing issues related to the SDSSP, the provincial minister said that according to the Sindh Local Government Ordinance, the Sindh Local Government Commission (SLGC) has a very important role to play and as such the SDSSP should focus its attention towards capacity building, which would guarantee maximum benefits to the common man through the present local bodies system.
He also reviewed the progress of the master planning cell, established to assist the TMAs of the province in preparation of their master plans. In future the development funds would only be issued to the TMAs which had their master plans complete, he said.
The role of various sections, institutions and posts was also discussed in detail.
It was said during the meeting that the community development department and the district coordination officers (DCOs) have no administrative department, which was necessary for their monitoring and evaluation of performance.
Project Director SDSSP Abdul Kabir Kazi informed the minister that the project has achieved considerable success during the last two years. He said an amount of Rs550 million would be provided to various TMAs for their capacity building and infrastructure development, of which 55 per cent was for sanitation, 35 per cent for water and 11per cent for solid waste management.
He said that 86 TMAs have been selected for the third year and so far seven TMAs have submitted their Annual Sector Plan (ASP). After reviewing their cases funding would be finalised, he added.
DSP Project Director Aijaz Ahmed Mahesar told the meeting that the sixth work plan of the project would be completed in the next two years. He said that 2,832 officers were trained in budget-making and its financial components during the last financial year.
So far, he said, six rules and 12 byelaws have been formulated by the DSP. Special emphasis is also being attached for formation and strengthening of Musalahat Anjumans throughout the province, he added.—PPI
