PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Friday ordered the early rehabilitation of flood-hit infrastructure in the province by asking the relevant authorities to ensure speedy completion of paperwork and provision of funding.

He chaired a meeting on development projects and issues of Swabi residents with special focus on the NA-18 constituency and examined progress on the rehabilitation of infrastructure damaged by the recent flash floods as well as the construction of Utla small dam, according to an official statement issued here.

He ordered the immediate resolution of the people’s problems in the NA-18 constituency.

Former speaker of the National Assembly Asad Qaisar, Member of Provincial Assembly Rangez Ahmad, principal secretary to the chief minister Amjad Ali Khan, Senior Member of the Board of Revenue Zakir Hussain Afridi, relevant administrative secretaries and other senior officials attended the meeting.

Reviews progress on uplift projects

The meeting was told that rehabilitation of infrastructure damaged by floods in Swabi would cost around Rs1 billion and that a summary about it had been initiated by the relevant department for the approval of the chief minister.

The chief minister directed the relevant authorities to expedite the process to ensure that required funds are released on time for the rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure.

He also directed the deputy commissioner of Swabi to prepare a case for the grant of the tehsil status to Gadoon and submit it to the Board of Revenue for action.

Mr Mahmood asked the relevant authorities to expedite work on Ulta dam and said the project was of vital importance for the resolution of drinking water issue in the area.

He said that he wouldn’t tolerate unnecessary delay in the project’s execution.

The chief minister directed the finance department to provide the required funds during the current financial year for the completion of the project within the stipulated time.

The meeting was told that the construction of Utla dam would provide the 40,000 population of 13 villages with drinking water.

The chief minister directed the relevant authorities to take necessary steps for the provision of the required land for upgrading the Bamkhel Sports Complex.

He asked the administrative secretaries concerned to ensure the completion of the respective development projects in time to benefit the residents.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2022