Development schemes: Focus is on CM`s constituency

PESHAWAR, Feb 24: Ignoring most of the backward districts, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has spent Rs720.029 million on roads in Mardan district, the hometown of Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti, under the provincial crash programme in financial years 2008-09 and 2009-2010. According to an official statement recently produced in the provincial assembly, the Works and Services Department had allocated Rs964.058 million for the maintenance and rehabilitation of roads under the crash programme in years 2008-09 and 2009-10. Of the total allocations, Rs720.029 million was spent in Mardan district alone and all the roads passing through the chief minister's constituency (PK-23, Mardan) had been repaired and improved. The department concerned had rehabilitated and widened a total of 12 roads under the programme, which all fell in Mr Hoti's constituency. According to the statement, another Rs182.057 million was allocated for rehabilitation of roads in Charsadda, Rs16.744 million for Mansehra and Rs21.948 for Kohat. The provincial capital where small and big roads are in a shambles had received only Rs5.579 million in the two fiscal years for repair and rehabilitation of roads. The government of Sardar Mehtab Abbasi had introduced the crash programme in 1998 for the rehabilitation of main highways – managed by the Frontier Highway Authority – district roads and farm to market roads in all the districts of the province. Mr Hoti's predecessor, Akram Khan Durrani, had also focused largely on the development of his home district by allocating more and more resources for Bannu. Some of the mega schemes that Mr Hoti initiated in Mardan during the last three years include Khan Abdul Wali Khan University, Bacha Khan Medical College, upgradation of district headquarters hospital, Mardan Medical Complex and upgradation of a couple of rural health centers. Similarly, construction of Ring Road, two bypasses and rehabilitation of roads of the interior Mardan city, costing billions of rupees, are some of other major schemes being undertaken in Mr Hoti's constituency. Construction of Benazir Institute of Child Health, another mega project, is said to be in the pipeline. PPP-S lawmaker Israrullah Khan Gandapur, who had raised the issue in the assembly, told Dawn that allocations made for the crash programme was not reflected in the annual development programme. He said that the amount supposed to be allocated for the rehabilitation of roads and highways across the province was spent on the improvement and extension of roads in Chief Minister Hoti's home district. "In principle, the department can repair and rehabilitate roads under the crash programme," he said and added that instead the government used the funds on extension of roads in Mardan, while other districts had been ignored. Mr Gandapur said that the amount needed for new schemes should be included in the Annual Development Programme, which needed approval of the assembly.