GILGIT, Feb 29: The Annual Development Programme funds for the five districts of the Northern Areas should be allocated keeping in view the population of each district. The existing disparity in allocation of funds on a regional basis has been impeding development projects in densely-populated districts like Gilgit.

Northern Areas adviser for education, finance and revenue Hafeezur Rehman told reporters on Saturday that Gilgit serves as the regional headquarters of the NAs where considerable number of people from each district reside, but the allocation of funds is not according to population.

Mr Rehman said the population of Gilgit district increases at a rate of 5 per cent per annum and over 15 per cent migrants from different areas expand this population every year.

"The population of Gilgit town is even bigger than some districts but there is a great discrepancy in the allocation of funds", he said. He said a proposal has recently been sent to Kashmir and Northern Areas division for approval of funds on a population basis.

When the adviser's attention was drawn towards the longstanding power crisis in the district, he said one megawatt power project had been approved at Paddi in the vicinity of Gilgit.

The project, he said, would cost Rs50 million for which a water channel had already been constructed in 1808 during the British Raj, and this only needed upgrading. Apart from this, a water reservoir in Karagah valley, with a capacity of storing water for a 2 MW power station, would be constructed pretty soon. Mr rehman added that as a short-term remedy to the power crisis, they had shipped two thermal generators of one MW each - one for Gilgit and another for Skardu - at a cost of Rs10 million.

He blamed illegal consumers for creating the power crisis. He pointed out that there were only 11,000 legal consumers while the number of illegal consumers was over 20,000 in Gilgit.

"Though the existing capacity of 8 MW is enough for over 32,000 consumers if they used it only for lighting but illegal consumers used all high-voltage electric appliances and eventually caused power crisis", he said.

As for water supply schemes, he said, he had finalized 5 projects in the current fiscal year in his constituency at a cost of Rs10m. Similarly, he said, 38 link roads were being built in NA-II constituency as also the upgrading of the existing ones.

Mr Rehman said they had spent Rs10.2 million on medical and veterinary dispensaries in Gasho-Pahout valley of Jaglote. He said Rs1.48m were being spent in NA-II for the construction of primary schools and their upgrading in the current year.

The adviser told reporters that three mega projects including a convention centre in Gilgit, a mental hospital and Darul Aman would be set up on a priority basis in the next fiscal year.