CHITRAL: Kalash Valleys Development Authority has achieved a significant milestone by approving its official policy instruments and starting work on its implementation which included habitat planning and design report on Kalash valleys, capital development plan and hazard profile of thevalleys.
The director-general of KVDA, Minhasud Din, told the local media persons hereon Sunday that the official policy instruments (OPIs) had statutory status having a legal framework for decision-making thereby regulating the development process while the organisation took an edge over the other special purpose development authorities working across the province.
He appreciated the efforts of Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) in the formulation of the OPIs which has a strong base of knowledge and expertise in creating safe, sustainable and resilient habitats in the communities prone to natural disasters and the effects of climate change.
He said that after receiving the OPIs from the organisation in a ceremony in Islamabad the other week, his organisation had started to put in place a well-connected implementation regime with the support of World Bank and Unicef.
Habitat planning, capital development initiatives launched
He said that the habitat planning would guide all future interventions and regulatory decisions in the Kalash valleys in the thematic areas of land use and zoning, housing and to build environment, infrastructure and basic services, mobility and transport, cultural heritage, community identity and socio-economic development.
Regarding the first component of the instrument, he said that capital development plan provided a structural mechanism to identify, prioritise and mobilise investments across the sectors of water, sanitation andenergy, tourism and culture heritage, livelihood and local economy as well as spatial and habitat planning.
“Hazard profile of theKalash valleys was yet another instrument covering the thematic areas ofseismic and land use risk, flood and water management, climate vulnerability and community safety,” he said.
He said that the approved OPIs were a result of detailed discussions and engagement with local stakeholders and experts in which it had got the active support of Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, financially aided by Danish Embassy with World Bank and Unesco also onboard.
He said that the OPIs also covered the prioritised areas of the good governance agenda of the KP chief secretary which included service delivery as its cornerstone relieving the residents of the valleys of the perennial issues faced by them.
“The new development, heralding the advent of the new era in the valleys, will certainly lead to stimulatingeconomic growth and guide sustainable practices,” he said, adding that Kalash valleys would have a comprehensive plan of development addressing their needs.
Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2025
