–‘Centre, GB govt planning to establish regional grid to reduce losses, evacuate surplus power to other load centres and provide a foundation to interconnect GB with national grid’
–‘Federal agencies will soon be set up in GB so that people do not have to go to Islamabad for necessary paperwork’
ISLAMABAD: Planning Commission Deputy Chairman (DCPC) Dr Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan has said that the incumbent government is fully committed to achieving the objectives of socio-economic development and political stability in Gilgit-Baltistan.
“We believe that a stable and prosperous GB can play an important role in the country’s economy,” the deputy chairman said while addressing a seminar on the ‘Socio-Economic Development of Gilgit-Baltistan’, which was jointly organized by the Ministry of Planning Development & Special Initiatives and Planning Development Department of GB on Monday.
The high-level forum, for the first time, deliberated upon the five-year plan/programme developed for various sectors by the Planning Commission in collaboration with the GB government. Major sectors under the plan include infrastructure, agriculture, tourism, health, education, higher education, energy and gems & precious stones.
The DCPC said that this year, the GB development budget was increased from Rs2.5 billion to Rs10 billion, adding that this massive increase in budget shows the commitment of the Centre towards GB’s development.
He said that the offices of federal agencies would soon be set up in GB so that the people living here do not have to go to Islamabad for necessary paperwork.
Talking about energy issues, the DCPC said that the federal government in collaboration with GB government is planning to take certain important interventions like establishment of regional grid to reduce losses, evacuation of surplus power to other load centers and ultimately provision of a foundation to interconnect GB with national grid.
He said that GB’s mineral sector development would be focused upon through strong research & development activities, regulatory framework, resources mapping and deployment of modern technologies.
On tourism, he said that that government is planning to develop the tourism sector as an industry. “Several interventions have been identified to harness the potential such as infrastructure development, legal and regulatory framework, private sector facilitation, comfort of tourists and needs of the local community, marketing strategy and skilled development,” he added.
Khan maintained that the government would focus on community-based sustainable interventions, capitalizing on the potential local resources, improvement in Human Development Indicators including health, education, water & sanitation and immunization.
He informed that the present government has taken different steps to facilitate public-private partnership (PPP) in certain mega projects under Public Sector Development Programme. “In GB, we are looking for PPP in the social sector to mainstream vulnerable and socially excluded populations. Collaboration with local and international development partners will be made to seek financial and technical assistance in different sectors. A ‘PPP cell’ will be established in the Planning and Development Department of GB.”
The DCPC said that increased productivity in agriculture, livestock and fisheries sectors could impact the livelihood of the local community, adding that the establishment of cold chain, agro-based industry and food processing industry, backed by strong R&D, would be the key areas of focus.
“There is a need for a foolproof implementation strategy to materialize all the proposed plans realistically, otherwise we may end up with a long wish list. Institutional reforms will also play a key role in this regard,” the DGPC asserted. “Roles of federal and GB governments should be clearly defined prior to unfolding the five-year plan.”
At the end, Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Mir Afzal khan presented a souvenir to the DCPC and thanked the Planning Commission delegation for visiting Gilgit and seeing various initiatives by themselves to understand the needs of the GB government and its people.
