PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has announced that people of natural calamities-prone areas of Chitral will be given residential plots in the proposed housing colony to be established at a safer place in the district.

He was talking to a representative delegation of Chitral, which called on him here on Sunday, according to a statement.

Mr Khattak said the government had approved road projects worth Rs60 billion for the whole province this year, and that no new scheme would be considered until the ongoing projects were completed.

He, however, said internal roads of Chitral city would be improved in the current financial year as roads of all major cities were being rehabilitated under the urban uplift programme.          

The delegation was led by MPA Fauzia Bibi. Officials of the concerned departments dealing with rehabilitation of the earthquake and flood-hit areas of Chitral were also in attendance.  

The chief minister said he had ordered setting up a university in Chitral, asking the concerned departments to expedite progress on the project to help the students of the remote district to have higher education facilities at their doorsteps.

He assured that the Chitral roads and other earthquake and flood-affected infrastructure would be rehabilitated on priority basis. Assuring to visit Chitral for reviewing the uplift and rehabilitation projects, Mr Khattak said he had also directed three concerned provincial ministers to visit Chitral to listen to the problems of the people and take necessary measures to redress their grievances.

Explaining the provincial government’s strategy regarding development projects, he said only those schemes would be initiated which could be completed within stipulated time and for which required financial resources were available.

The chief minister also sought progress report on various projects either ongoing or to be launched in the Chitral district, including the Chitral university, Kaglusht housing scheme, an irrigation water channel, Rescue 1122 Service, working women hostel, repair of Reshun hydropower station and some road projects.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2016