PESHAWAR, Feb 20: Many Nazimeem and councillors on Thursday staged a walkout from the City District Council session to protest against what they said negligence of the district government towards under-developed areas in the current annual development programme (ADP).

Some angry Nazimeen also tore copies of the annual development report into pieces and demanded of the district government to revise the proposed uplift plans keeping in view the less developed areas of certain union councils.

But, despite this strong opposition and walkout, the district council okayed a Rs41.4 million ADP for the year 2002-03. Council Convener Dr Iqbal Khalil presided over the proceedings.

Protesters were of the view that the district government was constantly ignoring under-developed areas in the uplift programmes.

Last year, they pointed out, the district government had committed that semi-urban areas of the district would get additional ADP funds.

They alleged that federal and provincial governments were violating the devolution plan by releasing uplift funds to MNAs and MPAs. According to the Constitution parliamentarians had no concern with the developmental schemes, they added.

Speaking on the occasion, Nazimeen Malik Sheer, Shah Faisal, Tehseen Ullah, Kifayat Ullah and Hemayat Ullah rejected the current ADP, saying that their areas had been allocated very small amount in the new annual uplift plan.

They warned that they would not allow implementation of any new scheme in their respective union councils unless the government review the ADP.

Earlier, tabling the agriculture committee recommendations, Nazim Malik Hanif said that current prices of sugar cane in Peshawar district were very low, and suggested the government to increase the commodity prices from Rs42 to Rs60 per maund, because, he said, the mill owners were increasing the prices gradually. The provincial government had legal powers to revise the prices, he said.

The Nazimeen and councillors also demanded of the government to direct the Agriculture Development Bank for reducing the mark-up rate from 14 per cent to 7 per cent and allocating funds for the rehabilitation of water channels in the district.