Daily Times

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has set targets in seven sectors in the fiscal year 2017-18, including the generation of around 28,000 jobs for young people.

A document titled “Citizens’ Budget: Putting People First”, released by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Department elaborates key targets in education, health, agriculture, local governments, security, sports and culture sectors to be attained during the fiscal year.

The citizens’ budget was first introduced during 2014-15, as a reflection of the KP government’s commitment to improve citizens’ access to budgetary information and promote accountability and transparency in managing public finances as intended by the promulgation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Act 2013 and Right to Services Act 2014.

The document focuses on all those measures, which directly or indirectly have an impact on common citizens.

In the health sector, Rs 3 billion were allocated for micro-health insurance for poor households, Rs 100 million for piloting tele-medicine and Rs 25 million for extension of Insulin for life programme to 25 districts in the year 2017-18.

Also, free treatment will be provided to 5,000 cancer patients while Rs1bn have been allocated for immunisation of children during the financial year.

For maternal and child healthcare, Rs 2,700 per delivery done at Basic Health Unit or hospital done will be provided, and 13,500 lady health workers will be appointed for providing healthcare outreach services.

Rs 12 million will be spent on providing training on information technology to women.

A sum of Rs 9.2 billion will be provided to parent-teacher councils to complete missing facilities in all schools latest by 2018. Rs 3.1 billion will be spent on construction of 5,000 additional classrooms and provision of school furniture. Similarly, Rs 1.5 billion will be spent on standardisation of 200 higher secondary schools.

Also, Rs 984 million were allocated for establishment of primary schools, Rs 210 million on secondary schools and Rs 2 billion for upgrading of existing schools.

Rs 1 billion will be used to increase schools’ enrolment, Rs 2.6 billion for provision of free textbooks to all students and revision of textbooks for class 6 to 8.

Rs 260 million were allocated for scholarship to top 20 position holders from each board of intermediate and secondary education and Rs 1.7 billion for scholarship to secondary school students. And Rs 964 million will be spent on training of school administrators and teachers.

To accelerate economic growth for creating jobs for the youth, several targets were also set.

As many as 356 community-based mini-micro hydro stations will be established. These will supply electricity to 85,000 to 90,000 households. Moreover, 17 special economic zones will be established to attract investments.

Rs 19.5 billion will be spent on black topping and dualisation of 600 kms of road and construction of 20 RCC/steel bridges, rapid bus transit system in Peshawar in eight months, and construction of eight small dams in Nowshera, Haripur, Abbottabad, Swabi and Kohat.

The computerisation of land records will be completed in 13 districts by 2018 while in the remaining 12 districts it will be completed by 2020. An amount of Rs2bn will be spent on beautification of Peshawar and divisional headquarters.

For improvement of security, law and order, 48,000-strong police force will be installed in 2017-18 to provide 24/7 services in the province, Rs 69 million will be spent on construction of high security zones in six jails, and Rs 40 million on improvement of female and juvenile sections in jails. Model police stations will be established at each tehsil/town headquarters.

For improvement of urban traffic, 1,963 traffic wardens will be appointed in 2017-18.

To promote sports and cultural activities in the province, Rs 30,000 will be given to over 500 artisans each, Rs 450 million will be spent on construction of playgrounds at tehsil level and a tourism authority will be established at the cost of Rs600m in the year 2017-18.

At 70 police stations, women counters will be established. Moreover, a stipend of Rs 200 per month to girls’ students in class 6-10 will be provided, Rs 20 million for indoor sports facilities and centre for females in Peshawar. An amount of Rs 55 million allocated for establishment of Women University in Mardan and women university campus in Swabi.

In seven districts for youth, 40,000 digital freelancers will be given training, another 3000 young men and women will be given cisco-certification in the year 2017-18.

For underprivileged people, Rs 90 million will be spent on establishment of special education schools and centres for people with disabilities, another 34,000 poor people to be provided financial grants through Guzara allowance, and Rs18m for vocational skills training of transgender people.

From Zakat and Ushr funds, Rs 1000 per month to more than 12,000 poor households will be provided, and in all health facilities healthcare assistance to poor people will also be provided from the same fund.