P&D Division briefs Prime Minister about ongoing priority projects

In pursuance of the development policy of the Government, the Planning and Development Division has identified the ongoing priority projects during the current PSDP, encompassing communication, vertical projects of health, education and civic amenities in big cities.
These projects, with positive social impact, entailing job opportunities and promoting regional balanced development, are essence of the development strategy of the government. This was stated by the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission and Secretary, Planning Division, in a briefing given by them to the Prime Minister here on Friday.
The Prime Minister recalled, on this occasion, that he had directed the Planning Commission to concentrate on completion of the projects with limited resources to ensure the timely benefits to the people of the country. The Prime Minister expressed satisfaction that this aspect had been taken care of and, for the first time, 94 percent of PSDP funds have been reserved for the on-going projects, and only 6 percent for the new schemes.
The Prime Minister said that during the NEC meeting, held in May this year, he had directed the Planning Commission to sit with the Balochistan government and consider its demands for allocation of more funds. The Federal Government, he added, approved additional Rs 2.5 billion for the province, particularly for Quetta Water Supply Scheme.
The Prime Minister also asked the Planning Commission to get regular inputs of the provincial governments while undertaking the projects, which have bearings on the lives of the people of the respective provinces. The Deputy Chairman Planning Commission and Secretary Planning Division said that socio-economic uplift of the less developed areas was the key objective of the government, and added that under the special development packages for such areas like Dera Bugti, Kohlu, Lyari and southern Punjab, a number of projects in the fields of education, health, water supply, sanitation and roads were being executed.
To address the civic problems of the big cities, like Karachi, Hyderabad, Quetta, Peshawar and others, various development schemes are under different phases of implementation and the Federal Government is providing funds for the provincial projects in these cities.
The Prime Minister asked the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Finance to help the provincial governments in enhancing their capacity for judicious utilisation of funds, which have become available to them after the 7th National Finance Award. The Prime Minister said that in view of the particular situation in FATA, the government had approved additional Rs 5 billion over and above the already allocated amount of Rs 10 billion in the budget for 2011-12.
The Prime Minister said that after the 18th Constitutional Amendment, he assured the provinces in a meeting held in April this year that despite the devolution, funds for vertical projects of health and population welfare in the provinces would be financed by the Federal Government.
The Prime Minister urged the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Finance to identify the completed projects well in advance so that the services of media could be used to apprise the people about such projects meant to improve the quality of their lives.
The Prime Minister directed that mechanism should be evolved in the Planning Commission to maintain a data base of such projects and also evaluate these projects on regular basis. He said that it is unfortunate that projects are completed by spending huge public money but they are not put to use to their full capacity or in some cases are not used at all. This is a sheer wastage of public money which is inexcusable, the Prime Minister observed.
The Prime Minister directed the Ministry of Finance to review its procedure to facilitate release of PSDP funds because delay in disbursement affects the pace of the completion of the projects besides overrunning the cost. Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafiz Sheikh, Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Dr Nadeem ul Haq, Secretary, Finance, Secretary, Planning Division, Secretary, Communications, Chairman of National Highway Authority and senior officials were also present in the meeting.-PR