UPPER DIR, July 20: The district council of Upper dir unanimously approved the budget for the fiscal year 2007-2008 with a total outlay of Rs.840.471 million here on Friday. Taking part in the discussion, Bakht Zada, Malik Muzaffar Khan, Amanullah, Kishwar Sultan, Naseem Bibi and others said that government contractors had been using substandard material in development projects which deprived the people of any benefit of the projects.

Kishwar Sultan criticised the local government for not completing the degree college for girls at Dir in the stipulated time and said that due to the delay in the construction of the building, hundreds of female students were deprived from higher education in the district. “The building had to be completed by June 2006, but unfortunately it is not yet completed due to which the female students are suffering”.

The council meeting was presided over by convener Azizul Haq. The budget was presented by Upper Dir Nazim Sahibzada Tariqullah on July 16.

The council also took exception to the appointment of non-local people on Patwari posts and demanded their cancellation.

Addressing the council after the passage of the budget, the district nazim thanked the members for unanimously passing the budget and said that it was their collective responsibility to put the district on the track to development.

He also objected to the appointment of non-local people on the posts of Patwari and said that since there was no land settlement in the district the existing Patwaris were enough to do the job.