PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mohammad Sohail Afridi on Monday directed the officials to complete land acquisition for the construction of new district and tehsil complexes across the merged districts of the province within one month for improved service delivery.

Chairing a meeting of the planning and development department, Mr Afridi directed that progress on all ongoing development projects be ensured in line with set timelines, stressing that there was no room for delays in public welfare initiatives. “Our goal is to ensure that the benefits of these projects reach the people directly and without delay,” he said, according to a statement issued here.

Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah, Additional Chief Secretary (P&D) Ikramullah Khan, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Mohammad Abid Majeed, and other senior officials of the planning and development department attended the meeting.

Mr Afridi stated that the establishment of new complexes would ensure the provision of public services at the citizens’ doorstep.

The chief minister also instructed the participants to accelerate work on the provincial power transmission line project, emphasising that the province’s own transmission system would enable the supply of affordable electricity to industries and the general public. He added that industrial development was essential for creating employment opportunities.

The meeting was informed that a total of 2,186 schemes had been included in the development programme 2025-26, with an allocation of Rs520 billion. Under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Annual Development Programme, 1,577 schemes had been allocated Rs215 billion, out of which Rs73 billion had already been released. Similarly, Rs6.6 billion had been allocated for the merged districts’ ADB, while Rs50 billion had been earmarked under the Accelerated Implementation Programme for merged districts, of which Rs19.4 billion had been released.

The meeting was further informed that the federal government had not released funds for the AIP during the current fiscal year; however, the provincial government had released Rs19.4 billion from its own resources.

By the end of the current fiscal year, 470 development projects were expected to be completed.

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2025