ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Monday said on Monday that reconstruction and development of formerly Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and bringing them at par with rest of the country was the top priority of the government.
He said this while chairing a high-level meeting regarding reconstruction and development of former FATA at the PM Office. The meeting was attended by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Shah Farman, Chief Minister Mehmood Khan, Advisor to the PM Shahzad Arbab, Special Assistant Iftikhar Durrani, Provincial Minister for Revenue Taimoor Salim Khan and senior officials.
The meeting reviewed administrative affairs, health, education, law and order and development schemes of merged areas of FATA. It also reviewed progress of the merger process and policy for the next three months.
The prime minister directed for provision of health cards to five hundred thousand families of the merged areas by the end of January.
The chief minister, provincial ministers and secretaries concerned should make regular visit to the merged areas of former FATA and its various departments and personally review development works in health and education sectors, the prime minister directed.
The meeting decided that provincial cabinet, in its monthly meeting, would review progress of development works and reforms in the merged areas.
The meeting was directed to expedite efforts for enforcement of local government system in the merged areas. It was also directed to fill vacant posts in education, health and police departments and start recruitment process immediately.
It is pertinent to mention here that Prime Minister Imran Khan, on December 14, had directed the authorities to provide health, education and utilities to the people of tribal areas. Chairing a high-level meeting on KP-FATA merger in Peshawar, Prime Minister Imran Khan ordered to constitute an implementation committee headed by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chief minister and governor for every tribal district.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday called for further speeding up the process of New Pakistan Housing Project so that implementation work on the project could be started earlier.
He also directed the provincial governments to dispose of pending cases about the properties, with all relevant documentation, within the next 90 days.
The prime minister was chairing a meeting on New Pakistan Housing Project during which he was given a detailed briefing by the Housing Task Force on the progress of the project so far.
He said the project of constructing five million housing units stood atop the government’s projects, which would not only help address the housing problem in the country but also pace up the wheel of economy and create numerous job opportunities for youth.
The prime minister was told that a draft for the establishment of New Pakistan Housing Authority would soon be presented for cabinet approval.
A draft for the establishment of Real Estate Regulatory Authority would also be presented within a week, after which the regularly work would be separated from that of development, it was shared.
The premier was further informed that the interest rates proposed by the State Bank of Pakistan would soon be shared with members of the Housing Task Force.
The meeting was further informed that after consultation with relevant stakeholders, foreclosure laws would also be finalized within two weeks.
The meeting was briefed about the progress on the construction of 1.5 million housing units for government servants under the Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation (FGEHF).
The meeting was told that after the advertisement for Expressions of Interest (EOIs) on the construction of 1.5 million housing units, 41 companies had so far expressed their interest.
The prime minister was informed that out of the 41 companies, 25 companies had expressed their interest for constructing housing units at one site, while 14 others have expressed their interest for constructing housing units and providing land at different sites.
Published in Daily Times, January 1st 2019