PESHAWAR, Jan 9: NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani on Wednesday received a presentation on planning and development initiatives in Fata, his first after assuming his new responsibilities on Monday, and stressed the need for a focused approach towards implementation of uplift projects in tribal areas.

The presentation held at the Governor’s House was attended by Fata additional chief secretary Habibullah Khan, secretary to governor Azmat Hanif, secretaries of law and order, and other officials.

The governor said the government was giving priority to the development of tribal areas, adding that the development there would have far reaching effects on the socio-economic uplift of the tribesmen.

He said the development process in tribal areas should continue in a way that ensured maximum employment generation during implementation of the projects as well as after their completion.

“To achieve desired results, we would have to arrange more funds for Fata development schemes. We have to take some bold steps to ensure a speedy and result-oriented development process,” he said.

The governor underlined the need for an effective monitoring mechanism to ensure quality of work and speedy implementation of the projects.

He also stressed the need for evaluating the impact of development on the common man in tribal areas.

He said that education, health, communication, agriculture and water supply were vital sectors, adding that completion of projects in these fields would improve the socio-economic condition of people.

“We must focus all these sectors in order to bring a visible change in the lives of tribal people,” he said.

Regarding the development projects awaiting federal government’s approval, the governor asked the Fata additional chief secretary to review and prioritise the projects so that funds for these schemes could be obtained from the federal government.

The governor was informed that Rs7.5 billion was being spent in tribal areas under the Annual Development Programme.

Of the total outlay, 80 per cent has been allocated for the ongoing schemes and 20 per cent for the new projects.

He was also briefed about the Rs124 billion Fata Sustainable Development Plan and informed that for the first time the tribesmen had been practically involved in the preparation of the gigantic development plan to be implemented in nine years.