PESHAWAR:Minister for Local Government, Elections, Rural Development (LG,E&RD) and Parliamentary Affairs Akbar Ayub Khan Friday asked the public sector bodies working in the hill stations and tourists areas to keep working diligently so that these tourist destinations could made more attractive for international tourists.
“Hopefully this will not only contribute in improving the living standards of the locals but also make KP more valuable in tourism, to become a foreign exchange earning province”, he said.
He was chairing a joint review meeting of TMA Balakot and Kagan Development Authority (KDA) at his office LG Secretariat Peshawar.
In the meeting, responsibilities and performance of both the institutions working in the same tehsil of Balakot were discussed in detail and certain necessary decisions and steps were taken to improve its quality of works.
The meeting was attended by Secretary LG,E&RD Shakeel Ahmed, Special Secretary Mohtasim Billah Shah, Secretary Local Council Board Saleem Khan, Deputy Secretary Regulation Zahid Qureshi, TMO Balakot Azhar Naveed Khan, KDA Director Planning Muhammad Owais and other concerned officials.
The provincial minister in response to claim of entitlement of the two institutions of the 2% property tax collection, clarified that it has been suspended for the past one year following the cabinet decision and this decision is still intact.
Earlier this property tax was collected by the provincial government and the same modus operandi might be continued in future decision in this regard, he recalled.
He asserted that TMA Balakot has assigned the task of providing municipal services to the entire 12 UCs of tehsil Balakot while KDA didn’t need to get involved in such like duties in its 4 UCs of the same areas.
Similarly, he said that KDA has been tasked with the great responsibility of tourism development and it has to mainly focus on achieving this target. He said that KDA and Tourism Department have not to indulge in dual works of providing municipal services in its few UCs of the same tehsil.
Henceforth, he directed the Kagan Development Authority to focus on the promotion of tourism as per its mandate like the rest of the province.
He expressed the confidence that KDA while remaining within its jurisdiction will work zealously to promote tourism, natural beauty of Kagan, prevention of timber mafia, environmental improvement, more afforestation, development of housing schemes and parks as well as ensuring better facilities for tourists.
Akbar Ayub Khan further directed the TMA Balakot to improve the sanitation, hygiene, drinking water supply and street lighting system in the entire tehsil, pay full attention to the pavement and maintenance of streets and roads.
The provincial minister recalled that nations and institutions work like a team in developed countries and the same practice must be adopted here as well to emerge as developed and dignified state in comity of the nations, he concluded.