Work on dozens of health and education related schemes in the FATA region, notably in South Waziristan Agency, which was left halfway because of inconsistent policies of the FATA Secretariat, will be re-started soon to avoid losses of billions of rupees.
Official documents obtained by Pakistan Today reveal that work on around 109 schools and 17 community health centres (CHCs) was left halfway because of frequent shift in policies of the FATA Secretariat.
However, in a fresh development, Senator Saleh Shah from FATA, the convener of SAFRON senate standing committee, told Pakistan Today that after a series of meetings with the officials of the FATA Secretariat, those health and education related projects which had been deleted were being restored now.
Construction of buildings for a number of health and educational institutions was almost complete, but then abandoned halfway because of the shift in policy.
Saleh Shah said that the officials of the FATA Secretariat on Tuesday assured him that the matter would be taken up with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra so that work on the stalled projects could be started forthwith.
He said that the former governor Mehtab Abbasi had deleted these projects during his tenure but they were being revived after hectic efforts.
According to the official documents, a sum of Rs 167.757 million had been approved for regulation of four CHCs and construction of buildings for the existing nine CHCs in the militancy-hit SWA. However, these projects were left halfway after spending Rs 9.431 million on them.
The papers further stated that construction of four CHCs worth Rs 52.484 million had been approved but these were left in the middle despite having spent Rs 2.567 million.
Moreover, according to documents, establishment of 19 government primary schools with an estimated cost of Rs 175.05 million had been approved in 2013-14, but they were all deleted from the FATA ADP 2016-17.
Similarly, construction of buildings for nine community schools, up-gradation of three primary schools to middle and upgradation of nine primary schools to middle status in SWA with an estimated cost of Rs 180 million were abandoned because of the policy shift.
In addition, it was decided that 17 primary schools will be established in the region with an estimated cost of Rs 166.55 million, but they were also deleted from the FATA ADP 2016-17.
Similarly, regularisation of six community schools with an estimated cost of Rs 53.617 million and establishment of two model schools with an estimated cost of Rs 160 million had been approved but they were also deleted later on.
The upgradation of 12 primary schools to middle level with an estimated cost of Rs 114 million, upgradation of six middle schools to high schools at a cost of Rs 155million and regularisation of 16 were approved, but all these schemes were deleted from the ADP later on.
Moreover, the documents revealed that regularisation of 16 schools with an estimated cost of Rs 191.394 million was approved, but it was deleted in the new ADP.
