Wani unhappy over ‘sick schemes’ in Diamer
Gilgit-Baltistan’s chief secretary convenes a DDWP meeting on Friday to fix responsibilities for delays in the completion of health and education projects
Chilas: Gilgit-Baltistan’s top bureaucrat has expressed displeasure at the inordinate delay in the completion and functioning of educational and health projects at Chilas.
“I was shocked to see the abject lack of planning, poor sense of planning of the project activities, sense of sequencing of the activities, wastage of resources by delaying projects. Some projects were as delayed as by two to five years,” Mohiuddin Ahmed Wani, Chief Secretary, Gilgit-Baltistan, has expressed his displeasure in a post on his Facebook wall after visiting Chilas, Diamer’s headquarters on Monday.
In this regard, he has called a meeting of the district development working party (DDWP) on Friday to take stock of the situation and fix responsibility for the laxity and delay.
The Chief Minister had last year taken notice of it and had directed the relevant departments to complete these schemes as soon as possible.
“Unfortunately, the departments again have let all of us down by only focusing on contractor-driven civil infrastructure”, and no exercise had been carried) out to plan for procurement of equipment by doing the right cost estimates, the CS has commented.
No plan was made to hire human resources for these medical and educational institutes on time and now “we are standing in front of brick and mortar completed but not functional, many for one year and most of them for 2-5 years,” he commented.
“I have taken note of it and called an immediate meeting of development forum (DDWP) on this Friday and directed all the concerned departments to revise the project documents in next 24 hours covering all missing facilities like furniture and fixture, science lab, computer labs, libraries with proper estimation. I will personally monitor/supervise on weekly basis, completion of these projects and making them functional as soon as possible,” Mr Wani directed.
Earlier speaking at a seminar on “Learning the Art of Freelancing” and certificate distribution ceremony here on Monday, the CS said that the progress and prosperity of Diamer depended on acquiring modern education, the art of freelancing and information technology skills.
The chief secretary expressed his interest in promoting IT-related skills in Gilgit Baltistan.
Mr Wani felicitated the organizers for introducing IT literacy in Diamer and affirmed his support for the cause of making Diamer, the most neglected division of GB digital.
The event was organised by the district administration in collaboration with Medio-Tech, an initiative by local youth in collaboration with Gilgit-Baltistan Rural Support Programme (GBRSP).
Abdul Latif, chief executive officer of GBRSP also spoke at the seminar.
He appreciated the organisers for completing the first phase of the ‘Digital Diamer’ and promised his support for the next phase as well.
He said his organization was keen on working with enthusiastic and capable youth who came up with sustainable ideas for the local community.
A large number of people, public representatives, notables, religious clerics, IT personnel, students, and heads of departments attended the seminar and expressed their support for the cause of making the Diamer division digital.
They expressed their gratitude to Medio-Tech for introducing IT literacy in Diamer.
Dr Zaman and other dignitaries also spoke on the occasion. A brief presentation on the vision and mission of MedioTech was presented by Zia Ur Rehman.
Some of the trainees of the programme shared their experiences and success stories.
MedioTech is the first local digital media and technology company that introduced the concept of promoting digital skills in Diamer under the pilot project “Digital Diamer” and imparting IT skills to the youth of the division in collaboration with GBRSP.
MedioTech founder Arshad Jugnu expressed his gratitude to GBRSP and the district administration for their cooperation in making the project a success and making Diamer digital.
He also appreciated the keen interest of the chief minister and the CS in promoting IT skills and knowledge in the region. He hoped that the regional government and It companies will continue to extend their support to his team and firm in promoting IT knowledge in GB, in particular, and Diamer Division, in particular.
The CS distributed certificates among the participants of the first-ever pilot ‘Digital Diamer’ project.
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