ISLAMABAD, May 22: President Gen Pervez Musharraf has directed all the four governors to regularize those Kutcha Abadis where it was not possible to provide alternative accommodations to the poor residents.
Presiding over a high-level meeting here on Tuesday, he also asked the governors to study ownership rights to the poor who were residing on state land in rural areas.
According to a handout issued after the meeting, he said that the concerned authorities should be considerate and polite while dealing with encroachments.
He stressed that water projects should be prepared in consultation with Indus River System Authority (Irsa) and should be consistent with the Water Accord. He said that water should be a unifying force in the country and not a divisive force. The president’s directive apparently came in the wake of Thal Canal project which was approved by the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) without consulting Irsa.
The meeting was also attended by governors, federal ministers and the senior provincial officials of the Finance, and Planning Commission. A thorough discussion took place on key projects in the sectors of water, transport, communications, energy, science and information technology.
He said the highest priority should be given to the development of water and power sector and poverty alleviation. The president reiterated his commitment to improve physical infrastructure by making long-term investments and programmes to improve the lot of the poor in the country.
The president emphasised the need to allocate additional resources to the provinces to match with devolved responsibilities at the district level. The national and provincial finance ministers should also keep this objective in view while dealing with the issue. “There should be no duplication of efforts and each level of government should have its own defined sphere”. In the water sector, it was essential to provide funds for raising of Mangla Dam, he added.
The president reviewed the progress of Raini Kachchi and Thal Canals. In power sector, the strategy was to shift from oil to gas and from gas to coal and of bringing hydropower back to its position of pre-eminence. The resources allocated in the water and power sectors should be effective and adequate and any change should follow a strategic direction, he said.
He observed that government’s huge investment in various sectors should create jobs and employment opportunities. He said greater investment projects like revamping and rehabilitation of irrigation in Sindh should be taken up as quick as possible. He, however, said these issues should be carefully monitored and that wastage will not be tolerated.
The president gave approval of Loralai Town gas scheme as a pilot project which will then be replicated in other towns, if found successful.
To improve the institutions for maintenance of law and order, which the president said was necessary for a good investment climate, he directed that necessary allocations be made to equip police as well as proper equipment and accommodation for judiciary.
He said that the strategy being followed by the government will bear fruits in the next three to four years and will bring about a quantum change not only in the economy of the country but also in the life of the ordinary people.