DIKHAN, Pakistan: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on Saturday said the government was taking tangible measures to extend relief to growers, planning to put all existing all electricity-based tube-wells of agriculture sector on solar energy in the province during the current year.
Inaugurating Gomal Zam Command Area Project, the chief minister said the agriculture sector shared a good contribution in economic development, so the government would provide solar-powered tube-wells to the growers of the province as part of efforts to give impetus to economic growth.
He said the provincial government would approach World Bank to lend financial support to the plan and fully capitalize on agriculture development-oriented efforts.
He said that mega project of the Gomal Zam Command Area scheme would herald a green revolution to the land in area, which had been lying either barren or unproductive due to water scarcity, adding it would irrigate 87700 hectare of land in Kulachi, over 94000 hectare of Tank and about 8000 hectare of Dera Ismail Khan.
He said said work on Chashma Lift Canal project would soon be kicked off, adding the province would bear cost of Rs 40 billion and federal government would share expenditure to the tune of Rs 70 billion to execute the project which would give boost to the agriculture filed of the district.
He said that Dera Ismail Khan had been included in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Project under which railway tracks and roads networks from Peshawar to Dera Ismail would be laid, generating economic activities in the belt.
He said that CPEC project also envisaged an Industrial Park in area of the Dera Ismail Khan which would provide job opportunities for the youth of the area.
Thus, he urged the parents to provide technical education to their children in order to prepare them for securing jobs in industrial units or projects, being executed as part of the multi-billion CPEC project.
He said that provincial government had taken a number of initiatives for the welfare of the people of the province, adding initiative of Insaaf Card was giving testimony to this effect.
He said Insaaf Card holder would be entitled to avail upto Rs 5,00,000 free medical treatment, adding the programme would soon cover half of the province population.
He said government had also enacted Right to Service law in order to facilitate people, adding complaints should be registered if anyone found hurdles in getting domicile certificate or licenses.
Referring to local government system of the province, the chief ministers said local representatives were effectively contributing their services for the welfare of the local population, adding they were instantly resolving masses problems at grass-roots level.
He also highlighted his government’s efforts to cover land with trees, saying one billions of trees would be planted across the province, which would ensure positive environmental impact for the population.
Earlier, he chief minister was briefed about Gomal Zam Command Area project by Commissioner Dera Ismail Khan circle Dr Nazeer Akhtar Warriach.
