PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has directed the elementary and secondary education department to work with elected representatives for devising a strategy to reconstruct dilapidated government schools in Peshawar and its vicinity.

The department would prepare a PC-1 for reconstruction of such schools, said a statement released here Thursday. In a meeting held here on Thursday to review developmental projects in Peshawar region, the chief minister also directed the department to complete a feasibility study for establishment of degree colleges.

He said that work on feasible colleges should also be started without any delay. He also asked Sui Northern Gas Pipelines to take steps for resolving the issue of low gas pressure in the provincial capital.

Mr Khan said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was gas producing province and therefore SNGPL must ensure uninterrupted supply of gas to consumers.

The SNGPL authorities said that the issue of low pressure and loadshedding of gas would be addressed through 16 different projects, currently under-progress.

The meeting reviewed progress on various developmental projects of health, education, communication, public health engineering, local government, power, gas and other sectors.

Issues faced by people in all the districts of the province including Peshawar, Charsadda, Mardan, Swabi, Nowshera, Khyber and Mohmand were also discussed in the meeting. The chief minister directed the authorities concerned to take concrete steps to resolve the issues as early as possible.

The meeting was briefed about the schemes reflected in Annual Development Programme for these districts whereas elected representatives informed the forum about important issues being faced by people in their respective constituencies.

The chief minister asked the quarters concerned to take necessary steps to resolve the issues on priority basis. He said that he would chair a meeting every month to review progress on developmental projects.

He stressed the need for having a management plan for solution of traffic issues in Peshawar. He said that a meeting of the departments concerned including traffic police should be convened next week for the purpose.

He ordered the quarters concerned to launch crackdown on illegal private housing schemes being established on agricultural lands in the province. He directed the authorities to devise a mechanism to regularise such housing schemes.

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2020