HYDERABAD, May 12: District Nazim Makhdoom Rafiquzzaman has directed all EDOs to utilize funds earmarked for development schemes before the end of the current financial year on June 30.

He was presiding over a meeting at the district Nazim secretariat here on Tuesday. The Nazim urged that not a single rupee be allowed to lapse and reports about the annual allocation of funds should be submitted to him in three days.

He said that reports would be discussed threadbare in a meeting on May 15. He said that in case the allocated amount on any scheme was declared surplus or could not be utilized, it would be re- appropriated and utilized on other development scheme.

Mr Makhdoom regretted that duplicate administrative orders were issued by district and provincial governments and said that it was creating confusion. He said that in future all the orders would be implemented through the district government.

He took a serious notice of the absence of EDO revenue and warned that all EDOs should remember that they were part and parcel of the district government and they must attend all the meetings regularly.

Replying to a question, he said that the lapsed amount of ADP of last year had not yet been released by the provincial government which had to be released in January this year. He said that the district government would once again move the Sindh government to release the lapsed amount without any delay.

PUBLIC MEETING: Sindh minister for Auqaf, Zakat, Ushr and religious affairs Dr Irfan Gul Magsi has said that the government had sanctioned an amount of Rs230 million for the construction of link roads in Tando Allahyar taluka.

He was speaking at an open kutchehry held at Nasarpur on Tuesday. Dr Magsi said that an amount of Rs140 million would be spent on gas supply to residents of Chambar, Kamaro Sharif and Bukera Sharif.

He said that 14 villages had already been electrified at a cost of Rs12 million. The minister announced that a compensation of Rs8,000 each would be paid where houses were completely destroyed in the last year's rains while Rs4,000 each would be paid where houses were partially damaged.

He said that the total compensation had been estimated at Rs10 million. He directed education officers of Tando Allahyar taluka to prepare a list of deserving students to enable the Zakat department to extend financial support of Rs3 million to them.

Mr Magsi held out an assurance that an ultrasound machine, an X-ray machine and an ambulance would be made available at the Nasarpur hospital within 10 days. He promised that 100 unemployed youth of Tando Allahyar taluka would be given employment within one month.

He said that an amount of Rs180,000 had been distributed in Nasarpur under different packages and added that an amount of Rs14 million had been spent on different development schemes in Tando Allahyar taluka.

He urged the students to acquire technical education and added that on the completion of technical education, they would be given financial assistance of Rs10,000 to Rs15,000 each under the self-employment scheme.