RAWALPINDI, Nov 29: Ministry of Religious Affairs has extended an assistance of Rs100 million to the Rawalpindi district government for compensation of remaining 4,000 victims of the Nullah Leh flooding.
This was disclosed by district Nazim Raja Tariq Kiani in an interview with Dawn on completion of first 100 days of the district government here on Thursday.
The Nazim said all the flood-affected persons, who had not been compensated so far, would be assisted before Eidul Fitr through this grant, released by the ministry from the emergency Zakat fund.
Mr Kiani said soon after taking charge of the office, his first priority was to rehabilitate the flood victims and to launch a project to save the city from flood devastation in future. “I am satisfied that on completion of my first 100 days, all victims would be compensated before Eid,” he said.
The Nazim said Leh project would be launched by the end of next month.
Giving details, he said designs of bridges and the course of the nullah had already been prepared and the contract for the project would be awarded to a contractor before December 31. Mr Kiani said he would soon approach the provincial government to seek funds for the project.
HEALTH: Mentioning his government’s achievements in the health sector, the Nazim said blood banks had been established at all tehsil headquarters hospitals.
These banks, he said, would be of great help for the thalassaemia patients and in dealing with emergencies at the local level.
The district government, Mr Kiani said, was taking steps to provide latest equipment to the healthcare centres at the grassroots level. In this direction, he said, the THQ Hospital, Kahuta, had already been equipped with ultrasound and anaesthesia equipment and new ECG machines had been provided to all THQ hospitals in the district.
Absenteeism amongst doctors, serving in far flung areas, had been greatly reduced due to the monitoring system, introduced by the district government, he claimed. He said the health department had been asked to focus on cleanliness and better attitude of medical and para-medical staff with the patients. He said the district government set up medical camps at various far flung places where specialists examined the people.
EDUCATION: The district government, the Nazim said, was actively pursuing the case of filling 2,053 posts of teachers lying vacant in various educational institutions across the district with the provincial authorities.
Mr Kiani said the contract of the employees of four colleges of the city had been renewed on priority basis. A database of the educational institutions, down to the level of union councils, had been established to identify requirements and shortcomings in the district education system.
REVENUE: Mr Kiani said the record of the revenue department was being computerized with the help of National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra). This, he maintained, would help ensure greater transparency and solve the problems of litigation related to revenue affairs.
Nadra was working on a pilot project for the computerization of the record in one of the patwar circles of the district and this unique project was being carried out by the Authority free of cost. For this project, the Nazim said, Nadra had to import a special scanner worth millions of rupees.
WORKS & SERVICES: The website of the works and services department, Mr Kiani said, had been developed providing a list of all contracts, being executed by the department, the list of contractors and other financial details of the projects besides the establishment of a complaint centre. This, he maintained, would help maintain transparency as all project details would be easily accessible to every citizen.
AGRICULTURE: He said the district government had prepared a plan for the construction of mini-dams, training of farmers, soil and water conservation and provision of quality farm inputs to improve agriculture in the district.
POVERTY ALLEVIATION: Tariq Kiani said Rawalpindi had been included in the area of activity of Khushali Bank and so far 12 settlement centres had been opened. The Khushali Bank authorities, he said, had assured him that Rawalpindi would be made a model urban centre. He said a jobs bureau was being set up in collaboration with the Small Business Finance Corporation.
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