KARAK, Nov 2: Provincial Minister for Prisons Mian Nisar Gul has claimed that royalty on oil and gas to the district would reach Rs4 billion from the current Rs1.14 billion within couple of years, as more oil and gas reserves are being discovered.

He said this while addressing a meeting of party workers at Isak Chountra here the other day. The minister said work on the drinking water supply scheme at Isak Chountra was in final stages.

Expressing concern over use of substandard pipes in the water supply scheme in Dab Sangeni, Pashi Khel and Khotay Kala, the minister formed a committee of villagers to oversee the work. He also directed the department concerned to ensure use of standard material for making the scheme durable.

Mr Gul also assured the workers that work on the remaining portion of Niazi Well to Palosa Sar road would be initiated within days.

He claimed the prime minister would soon allocate Rs560 million for provision of gas to 24 villages. The minister elaborated that Rs20 million had been deposited to Pesco to install 20 power transformers in different areas.

He asked the concerned departments to speed up work on the projects, and the workers to form committees at village level to check the quality of developmental projects.