PESHAWAR, Oct 27: Peshawar city district Nazim Azam Afridi has said that the government would kick off various development schemes in the provincial capital to ensure provision of basic civic amenities to the citizens.

Addressing the budget session of the city district council here on Saturday, he said the city government had recently signed an agreement with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under which the agency would provide Rs700 million for multi-purpose development projects in the district.

He said that several development projects including sanitation, drinking water, drainage and sewerage would be undertaken in the district.

He assured the council that all the development schemes included in Annual Development Programme for 2001-2002 would be accomplished.

Responding to various complaints raised by the members in their budget speeches, Afridi termed the budget 2001-2002 balanced and said the government introduced no new taxes.

He claimed that the district government had equally distributed funds between rural and urban areas in the new budget. The government would spend Rs70 million on various development schemes during the current year, he added.

About the allocation of funds from the district government instead of cantonment board Peshawar for the expansion of Khyber Road, he said, the governor had assured the district government that the provincial government would allocate additional funds for various development schemes in the city.