PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur on Friday directed authorities to allocate the required funds in the next budget for the development projects nearing completion and said the timely completion of the ongoing schemes would be the top priority of the government in the next financial year.

`Eighty per cent of the development funds for the next fiscal year will be allocated to the ongoing projeets. However, new projects, based on the urgent needs of the people, will also be included in the next annual development programme,` Mr Gandapur told a meeting here, according to an official statement from the Chief Minister`s Secretariat.

The chief minister said the new development projects were being finalised in consultation with the relevant elected public representatives.

The meeting was held as part of the ongoing consultation with elected public representatives about the next development programme for divisions.

The participants discussed the possible development projects for Kohat Division in the new fiscal year.

MNAs and MPAs from all five districts of Kohat Division attended the meeting, where the chief minister`s adviser onfinance, senior officials from the planning and development department and Kohat divisional administration were also in attendance.

The progress on ongoingdevelopment projects in Kohat Division and the status of fund allocation were reviewed in the meeting, the statement read adding that officials gave sector-wise briefings on the progress of ongoing development projects in Kohat Division.

The meeting was briefed in detail about the proposed projects to be included in the next ADP.

According to the statement, the chief minister instructed officials to prepare feasibility studies and PC-1s for the new projects in a timely manner, saying drinking water supply schemes in southern districts should be given priority in the new development programme.

He said solarisation projects for all tubewells would be fully funded in the upcoming budget.

The chief minister urged the elected representatives to timely submit proposals for the establishment of schools and colleges in rented buildings in their respective constituencies and pay special attention to healthcare projects in remote areas.

He said no district should be without a district headquarters hospital, and no tehsil should be without a tehsil headquarters hospital.

Mr Gandapur ordered improvement in service delivery in hospitals.

The meeting also discussed matters related to the use of royalty funds for the oil and gas-producing districts of Kohat Division.

The chief minister said that in the next budget, Kohat Division would receive its royalty share in full, while special packages would be included in the development programme for Kurram tribes and their areas over cooperation with the government for restoring peace.