PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on Tuesday approved 293 new and ongoing schemes for inclusion in the Annual Development Programme 2017-18.

The approval came during a consultative meeting called at the Chief Minister`s House to finalise the ADP formulation, said a statement issued. The meeting was attended by the relevant ministers, administrative secretaries and other of ficials.

The statement said the participants thoroughly discussed the new ADP for higher education, agriculture, environment, forestry, food, sports, tourism, culture, youth affairs, communication and works, law, public health engineering, home, transport, excise, health, revenue,relief,energy,scienceandInformation Technology, mineral development, industries and information departments and took decisions about scheme allocations.

Agreeing with 58 new and ongoing schemes of the higher education department, the CM approved the establishment of 10 new postgraduate colleges in the province in the next fiscal year.

He also gave approval to 30 agriculture sectorschemes, including 17 ongoing and 13 new ones.

Mr Khattak sought a special focus on agriculture sector`s development in the new fiscal and said a lot more had to be done in that respect.

He ordered the early solarisation of tubewells in the province and asked the relevant authorities to seek the cooperation of the relevant MPAs if the need to acquire land for new tubewells arose.

The CM ordered uniformity in quality and rates of the projects.

`The next tender should be of equal standard rate in irrigation, public health engineering and agriculture departments. No scheme should be left incomplete in the new financial year,` he said.

Mr Khattak directed the authorities to shorten the process of the small famers` land development and said there should be crystal clear district wise targets for watercourses and water tanks, while work on it should begin in next July.

Approving the developmental outlay of environment department, he ordered the complete funding of the schemes of inventory and controlling of the industrial contamination.The CM said in all, 36 schemes were approved in the forestry department.

He also ordered the completion of work on Peshawar Zoo on fast track basis and said the beautiñcation ofthe zooand plantation ofevergreen trees and flora there should be ensured.

Mr Khattak warned that there would be no compromise on quality and beautification of the mega project.

He also ordered the early development and management of national parks in the province.

The CM also approved the Phase-IH of the Billion Tree Tsunami Forestation programme and the required resources and expressed satisfaction with the performance of the department. The environment secretary told the meeting that the third phase of the programme would be completed by next Oct.

Mr Khattak approved the food department`s 12 schemes for the next financial year, sports, tourism, culture and youth affairs department`s 53, home department and its allied sections` 59, Auqaf, Haj and religious affairs department`s 19, finance department`s nine, energy sector`s 54, and minerals development department`s 16 schemes.-Bureau Report