ISLAMABAD, June 15: The coalition government has decided to continue the Rs4.3 billion Islamabad Development Package (IDP) initiated by the previous government focusing uplift projects in rural area of the capital.

According to Public Sector Development Programme 2008-09, an amount of Rs500 million have been allocated for the projects in the coming fiscal year.

“The money has been earmarked for the ongoing schemes under the package and this shows that the government wants to complete them,” Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Amir Ali said, adding the package had given relief to the people of rural area.

The PML-Q government had released Rs1.042 billion for the projects under the package and the amount was spent on construction of roads, water supply, sanitation, irrigation, health, education and agricultural development.

The package was commissioned in 2006 under the supervision of PML-Q Islamabad chapter President Dr Amjad.

The responsibility of development, maintenance and provision of civic facilities in urban area of the capital devolves on the CDA while in rural area it is done by the district administration.

The CDA usually sells its precious land to meet development and non-development expenditures that crossed the figure of Rs24 billion last year. For this year, the authority is preparing its annual budget with a total estimated outlay of Rs28 billion.

On the other hand, the local administration is not a self- reliant department like the CDA; therefore, it always depends on funds it receives from the federal government.

The total money allocated for the local administration in the federal budget 2008-09 is Rs759 million - Rs500 million for the package and Rs259 million for other schemes.

Some of these schemes with allocated amounts are: Monitoring and evaluation cell (Rs14 million), construction of judicial and administration complex in G-10/1 (Rs20 million), water supply scheme Shahpur (Rs1 million), construction of residential accommodation for officers of ICT (Rs17 million), construction of residential accommodation for judicial officers/officials of session courts at Islamabad (Phase-II) (Rs5 million), water supply scheme Trammri (Rs4.684 million), water supply scheme Pindori and adjoining area (Rs4.5 million), water supply scheme Nilore (Rs5.175 million), improvement and development of civil defence department (Rs1.569 million), women credit programme (Rs1.5 million), training for women in glass painting and flower making (Rs0.570 million), establishment of computer literacy centres in nine union councils (Rs1 million), construction/improvement of roads at Talhar (Rs33.710 million), street pavement in village Nilore and Markaz Tarlai (Rs7.590 million), street pavement in three villages of union council Tarlai (Rs5.840 million), construction and improvement of roads at Kot Hathial (south) (Rs32.630 million), improvement of a 10km rural road in union council Koral (Rs20.240 million), street pavement in five villages of union council Kirpa (Rs24.240 million), street pavement in Pagh Panwal, Boora Bangial, Pind Dlan, Bukhar and Loi Bhir (Rs24.990 million), street pavement in Tumair, Jandala and Sihall (Rs6.940 million), construction and improvement of roads in Gokina (Rs25 million), street pavement at Pind Begwal (Rs4 million), construction of revenue service centre Golra (Rs8.797 million), construction of 20 Patwarkhanas of ICT (Rs10 million), water supply scheme at Kot Hathial (Rs13.240 million), promotion of livestock among women of ICT (Rs0.5 million), development of rural poultry (Rs2.2 million), strengthening of mobile veterinary service in Islamabad (Rs2.640 million), improvement of milk and meat production by strengthening artificial insemination services (Rs2.640 million), upgradation and expansion of veterinary healthcare services (Rs3.488 million), development of adaptive research farms (Rs1.188 million), development of olive vegetable nursery (Rs3.931 million), fisheries development and improvement of Rawal Dam, its tributaries and rivers of ICT (Rs0.876 million), strengthening facilities at fish seed hatchery project Rawal Dam with establishment of diagnostic laboratory (Rs0.624 million).