LOWER DIR: Several development projects in Lower Dir approved years ago remain incomplete due to persistent funding shortages, administrative delays and rising construction costs, depriving residents of basic facilities in health, education and infrastructure.
Among the most prominent stalled schemes is the Timergara Medical College that was inaugurated in July 2015.
Official records show that Rs100 million were allocated in 2021 for renovation of an existing building at Rani, later increased to Rs500m in 2024.
However, despite repeated budgetary allocations and official claims, the college has yet to start admissions. Besides Rs2.26 billion were earmarked in 2022 for a new building and land acquisition but no progress has been witnessed so far though land has been acquired.
Local opposition leaders claimed that nearly Rs4billion had already been spent on the project. Jamaat-i-Islami youth wing district president Atiqur Rehman has alleged that 195 employees including senior faculty and administrative staff have been drawing monthly salaries of around Rs170m for years sans any output.
However, college principal Prof Abrar Lakhkar Khan said all the requirements of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council had been fulfilled except faculty appointments, adding that interviews had been completed and appointments would be notified soon, expressing hope classes would begin this year.
Another major project facing prolonged delay is the Kalpani Talash Bypass, a 10-kilometre road scheme launched in 2016 at an initial cost of Rs683m.
According to the communication and works department, 7.7km has been blacktopped, while work on the remaining section has been stalled due to funding gaps, utility issues and land disputes. A revised budget of Rs945m has been sought to complete the project.
The much-touted Chakdara-to-Rabat Dir Motorway, approved under a public-private partnership at an estimated cost of Rs35.5bn, has also failed to move beyond paperwork. Although Section-4 was imposed for land acquisition, neither land has been purchased nor construction started.
The education sector has been among the worst affected. In 2022, several unsafe school buildings affected by the 2015 earthquake were demolished across the district, including higher secondary and primary schools in Rabat, Talash, Banda Talash, Bagh Dushkhel and Peeto Dara.
Rs373.7m were allocated for reconstruction, but officials say only Rs55m has been released so far, forcing students to study in tents and makeshift classrooms.
Similarly, work on several girls’ colleges — including degree colleges in Khaal, Lal Qila and Gulabad — remains incomplete despite allocations running into hundreds of millions of rupees.
Deputy Commissioner Lower Dir Mohammad Arif Khan acknowledged delays in several schemes, attributing them mainly to funding shortages and, in some cases, court stay orders.
He said the district administration was repeatedly taking up the matter with provincial authorities to ensure timely release of funds.
Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2025