RAWALPINDI: The District Development Working Party (DDWP) has approved Rs408.9million development schemes for missing facilities in government-run schools in the district.

A grant from the provincial department under the province`s annual development programme was received, but the schemes were not taken up for formal approval due to the ban imposed by the Election Commission during the local government elections.

However, the City District Government Rawalpindi (CDGR) took up the issue following the completion of the election process, and gave the building department a green light to start work on the schemes.

The meeting was chaired by District Coordination Officer (DCO) Sajid Zafar Dall and attended by senior offi-cials from the education and building departments.

In 2000 government run schools in the district, 31 electricity schemes will cost Rs2.2million, 98 drinkable water schemes will cost Rs11.83million, 116 toilets will cost Rs9.3million, computer labs in 27 high schools will cost Rs43.2million, furniture for 86 schools will cost Rs30million and the construction of103 dangerous schoolbuildings will cost Rs312.4million.

Exe cutive District Of ficer E ducation Qazi Zahoorul Haq told Dawn that work on the provision of missing facilities would begin by the end of the current month, and would likely be completed before the end of the 2015-16 fiscal year.

He said the process was delayed due to the elections, but the DCO has asked the building department to completethe work within the stipulated time frame with quality materials.

`The reconstruction and repair of dangerous buildings will be started immediately. Though there are 287 dangerous buildings in the district, the work on those buildings that need immediate attention will begin,` he said.

He said that 96 school buildings were damaged in October`s earthqualce, and all of those were on the list.

`The repair work on the remaining buildings will begin soon, af ter getting funding from the provincial government in the next phase,` he said.

Mr Dall told Dawn that the building department was asked to reconstruct or repair old buildings as per their old styles, so that the buildings were saved from a historical perspective. A Reporter