Sindh: Rs20 billion released for development works, CM told

[Naveed Yaseen]

Karachi
Around Rs20,620.18 million out of Rs75,000 million has been released so far for 1,712 uplift schemes under the Annual Development Programme for the year 2009-10, Secretary Finance Fazlullah Pechoho told a meeting chaired by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah on Monday.

The chief minister informed the participants of the meeting that he had received complaints from legislators’ vis-a-vis slow pace of uplift work in their constituencies. He directed the Planning and Development Department to implement the decisions taken under him pertaining to uplift schemes.

Shah stressed the need to complete the ongoing development schemes on time as according to him it was the responsibility of the officials concerned to implement government policies and programmes.

The meeting reviewed the ongoing uplift schemes of health, education, works and services, irrigation and power, public health engineering and other departments. Additional Chief Secretary Development, Munawar Opal, informed the meeting that Rs75 billion has been earmarked under the Annual Development Programme and out of it, Rs15 billion has been reserved for uplift projects of district governments.

He said that Rs45 billion has been reserved for 1,317 ongoing schemes and Rs30 billion for 451 new schemes. Meanwhile, Chief Minister (CM) Sindh, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, has underlined the importance of expediting pace of work of development schemes and completing the same within six months under instructions of President Asif Ali Zardari.

Talking to Minister for Industries, Rauf Siddiqi, who called on him at the CM House, Shah said that industries were needed in small towns and rural areas. He said that several small industrial estates had been set up in the province but regrettably the same were non-functional.

He stressed the need to activate these estates so that job opportunities are created in the areas and the increasing trend of migration towards the urban areas is controlled. He also asked the provincial police chief to enhance patrolling in the industrial areas.

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