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BARANI AREA DEVELOPMENT PROJECT in NWFP
Peshawar-The NWFP Governor Lt. Gen. E Syed Iftikhar Hussain
Shah has underlined the need for efficient utilization of
resources under Barani Area Development Project.
This project costing more than Rs. 6 billion has been designed
to cater the needs
and requirements of the hither-to-neglected nine districts of
the province.
He was talking during a presentation on Barani Area
Development Project Phase-II, held at Governor House on
Monday. The Governor said that we had a bitter experience of
the phase first of Barani Area Development Project as the
resources had been drained with no end result. The new phase
should be designed in a manner
incorporating the real needs of these districts.
He said under the 2nd phase we would go all out for a "focus
and targeted approach". Under the new mechanism, we would try
to make up our deficiencies in social sectors along with
boosting agriculture sector for attaining food autarky. The
Governor said that almost 1.3 billion rupees had been drained
in the first phase of Barani Area
Development Project.
Had these resources been used in some substantially targeted
projects, we would have been able to facilitate the men in the
street to the maximum possible extent. The duration of the
project, the Governor said, was too long which should be
compressed because delay reaction could delay the fruit of any
project. The Governor said that the District Nazims should be
on- board while re-determining the direction of the project
afresh.
He said the elected representatives must enjoy a dominant say
in any future planning or launching any development project.
This would go a long way in making the results reach the
people in a visible manner. This time, we should be more
realistic in our approach and if we happen to repeat the
mistakes committed in the phase one
again, this would be the willful drain of resources, he
added.Referring to various schemes under the project, the
governor said that certain schemes indicated under the project
which were proposed to be implemented in the near future were
again
duplication and triplication.
This project should be done away with as we could no longer
afford blind spendings in areas which was doubted to accrue
any positive results to the general public. Agriculture
research and other related schemes was one of such examples.
The Governor said that there should be re-prioritization of
schemes under Barani Area
Development Project, agriculture must spear head the sectors
because this province was a cash, starved and wheat deficient
province and we must focus on bringing maximum barrani land
under cultivation.
He directed to shape any future policy strictly in consonance
with the public demands. The Governor also objected to the
method of picking areas for the development schemes under a
given project.
He said that there should be a separate developmental
arrangements for settle and tribal belt. These should be
"settled and FATA specific project" and this should be
meticulously processed by the PE&D Department. Pertinent to
mention here is that the time taken for the first phase was
almost seven years and the 2nd phase would also consume the
same time. The Governor said that certain schemes having
no positive results for the general public should be dropped
and replaced by ones, as indicated by the elected
representatives for the development their areas.
The Governor directed various government departments to review
the components of the project and make any modification or
change which was inevitable for the benefit of a given area.
He said that Nazims would the lench man in working out any
future strategy in a given district.
What to talk of coordination, the Governor said, the District
Nazims would enjoy decisive power to indicate any scheme to be
incorporated in the project. He said that it was a project of
more than 6 billion rupees and it must give matching results
to the
people. He said that the project would cover developmental
activities in almost nine districts, therefore, the share of
each district should be ensured. However, the project should
be re-studied by PE&D Department. The Governor said that we
are going
to up root, mal-practices and wrongs prevalent in the system.
We would like to involve the District Nazims for the process
of prioritization so that the benefits should be accrued to
the masses.
The Governor said that the project should not spend extra
ordinary resources on non-developmental side. The services of
officials of line departments could be used for schemes of the
project .It should be kept in mind that for the benefit of the
people, these projects must involve the community in the
process of implementation. He said that closer coordination
and monitoring of the schemes under the project by the
community itself would check the drain of resources and
benefit the masses to the maximum possible extent.
The Governor also expressed his dis-satisfaction over the
method for choosing of schemes for the project. The Governor
said that we should phase out the method of going for small
schemes and instead incorporate big ones for the maximum
benefits of
the masses. This will need further fine-tuning of the projects
in hand, he added
He directed the Secretary Works and Services Department to
have a glance at the project and suggest remedies to the
ambiguities and lacunae in the project. He said we could ill
afford repeating the past mistakes therefore, it was necessary
that we
should not go in total divorce to the system.
This project should form part of the new district governments
set up. The elected representatives must have the sense of
ownership of these projects saying that if the community
becomes the stakeholders, it would ensure the efficient
utilization of resources . Similarly monitoring and
supervising would ensure the utility of
these schemes.
The Governor, however, said that various schemes going astray
should be shaped in an integrated manner so that its benefits
could reach the people as desired. The Governor said that we
must have to go for a focus and targeted approach. He directed
to compress the time period for launching the schemes. He said
that Nazims should
be involved in the process of prioritization.
The Governor was categorical that we must try to protect hare
of the backward districts to enable it to emulate developed
districts in the race of getting progress. Earlier, the
Governor was informed that the project would cost more than 6
billion rupees and would directly benefit approximately
8,30,000 beneficiaries. He was further informed that the
distircts of Abbottabad, Haripur, Kohsitan, Batagram, Mansehra,
Kohat, Kark, Bannu, and Lakki Marwat constitute the project
activities areas with more than 5.6 million population.
The areas were selected because of large tacks of
disadvantaged rainfed settlement. The project will cover
various sectors including agriculture development and
research, horticulture, silent conservation, livestock and
extenuation, community forestry and
rural financial services.
December 8, 2001
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