PESHAWAR, June 10: A development plan worth Rs2.909 billion has been proposed for the North Waziristan Agency, which includes flood protection and reclamation of agriculture land and surface irrigation schemes.

NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani was given a presentation on the project’s feasibility at the Governor’s House here on Tuesday.

The governor directed the Fata Secretariat to go ahead with initial preparation of the plan, to be put before the competent forum for final approval.

Giving the presentation, Siraj Ahmad Khan, director of irrigation, Fata, said that under the proposed three floods protection and reclamation projects, more than 3,700 acres of land would be reclaimed, besides protecting 15,000 acres of agricultural land and 23,000 houses along the Tochi River bank.

Another part of the plan is building 10 ‘delay action dams’ on tributaries of the Tochi River that will irrigate 200 acres of land. The plan further proposes to install 10 hydle power generation Units, costing Rs10 million.

The plan proposes 34 surface irrigation schemes along the Tochi River basin costing Rs524 million, which will irrigate 13,200 acres of land and benefit 70,000 people.

The presentation was based on a survey carried out by the irrigation department of the Fata Secretariat on the directive of the governor.

The governor described the plan as cost-effective having enormous rate of economic returns. “Infusing such a big amount into the economy of North Waziristan will certainly have multiple impacts on the overall socio-economic condition of the people of the agency,” he said, adding the plan would not only provide job opportunities to local people, but would also benefit agriculture, irrigation and power sectors.

The governor directed the planning and development department of Fata to propose similar projects for all the tribal agencies and Frontier Regions. — APP