KOHAT: Kohat nazim Mohammad Naseem Afridi presented Rs4.64 billion annual budget for 2018-19 fiscal year in the district council here on Monday.

The council’s budget meeting was presided over by convener Haji Abd ur Rasheed which was attended by the deputy commissioner Khalid Ilyas and officials of the line departments.

The district nazim in his budget speech said Rs4.1 billion had been set aside for payment of salaries and other non-development expenditures.

He said Rs300 million had been allocated for postal tickets, renovation of classrooms, TA bills, transportation, POL, stationary, printing, newspapers and furniture etc.

He told the house that Rs99 million would go into the development pool of 2017-2018 and Rs158 million into the ongoing projects.

He said according to the guidelines of annual development project and planning and development, 10 per cent would be consumed for health, 15 per cent for youth, women, sports and 20 per cent for education. Likewise, 55 per cent budget had been assigned for discretionary fund of the district government.

ALTERNATE PLOTS DEMANDED: Property dealers association of Kohat Development Township on Monday demanded alternate plots for 1,200 affected people of C-4 and B-5 sectors of the phase-II.

The demand was made at a meeting of the association chaired by its chairman Noor ul Islam. The participants also asked the Kohat Development Authority (KDA) to expedite the process of change of plots of 150 owners pending for years.

They said the KDA administration should hold conclusive discussions with the army for vacation of C-4 sector land. They said the plots had been auctioned for Rs40,000 and now their price had gone up to Rs1.8 million and the owners were demanding compensation according to current market rate for vacation.

ARRESTED: The police have arrested a wanted terrorist and mastermind of bomb blasts during the last 24 hours in an operation on the outskirts of the city.

The terrorist belonging to Orakzai was wanted in several cases and had been declared proclaimed offender by the courts.

Then Biltang police acting on information of the intelligence branch of the police raided a house in Dheri Banda and held Amin Akbar. He was also wanted in attacks on security forces.

He was shifted to an unknown location for interrogation.

Meanwhile, the police arrested a young man in Karwal area and seized six kilogramme of hashish he was taking from Orakzai to down country. The Ustarzai police registered case against the smuggler named Noor Khan.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2018