CHITRAL, July 29: The District Council of Chitral on Sunday unanimously approved Rs629.973 million budget for the financial year 2002-2003. An amount of Rs153.296 million have been allocated for development schemes, Rs8.264 million for education, while Rs421.977 have been earmarked for non-development expenditure of different departments.

Speaking on the occasion, District Nazim Shahzada Mohyuddin called upon the elected representatives to keep in mind the development and integration of the whole district before taking any decision.

He said the far-flung and backward areas should be given priority while allocating development funds so that those could be brought on a par with the developed areas of the district.

The session was presided over by its convener Salim Khan. The district coordination officer of Chitral was also present at the meeting.

The meeting also supported re-entry of those 53 families, who, despite being inhabitants of Chitral, were not allowed to enter the district by the Mehtar of the defunct state.

After their expulsion, these families had been living in a misery in different areas and had lost their socio-economic status due to their displacement, the council was told.