PESHAWAR:Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Shahab Ali Shah has said the provincial government was ensuring best possible transit and commercial trade routes to facilitate trade with Afghanistan.
He stated this in a high-level consultative session organized by UK’s FCDO-supported Sub-National Governance (SNG) Programme in collaboration with KP Planning & Development Department’s Urban Policy & Planning Unit (UPPU) to discuss the draft Urban Policy for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Once approved, this will be the first urban policy by any province across Pakistan.
On this occasion, Additional Secretary, Planning & Development Department Shahid Mahmood informed that this policy would pave way for inclusive opportunities for individuals, businesses, and communities in urban centers, leading towards social and economic uplift while ensuring environmental sustainability.
The participants were told that Additional Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah was closely following up on the progress towards formulation and implementation of this urban policy.
In line with recommendations by SNG program, the ACS has also directed that strong coordination should be maintained with other development partners who are supporting sustainable development goals at a local level in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Furthermore, Secretary Planning & Development Department Shah Mahmood advised that Urban Policy will be operationalized through inclusive public investments which will be part of the Annual Development Program.
During his technical presentation, Dr. Naveed Iftikhar from SNG Program explained that rapid urbanization at an unprecedented pace is seen in Peshawar, Hazara, and Swat regions.
A lack of holistic urban policy is leading to multiple challenges in service delivery and haphazard growth in cities. It is necessary to streamline and delineate the overlapping mandates of various entities in KP including Urban Development Authorities and Local Area Development Authorities. Environmental considerations in urban growth have been lacking across all cities.
Provincial Team Lead of SNG Program Dr. Raheal Ahmed Siddiqui explained that to address challenges of urban and city growth, this urban policy formulation exercise will identify gaps in existing urban planning laws, regulations and frameworks. The policy will offer framework for provincial urban development and also aim to strengthen the capabilities required in various departments of Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for implementation of policy interventions.
The consultative session provided opportunity to representatives of provincial government’s line departments, local administrations, private sector, academia, development partners, civil society organizations including women and youth groups to offer inputs and comments on the draft Urban Policy which will soon be submitted to the relevant forums for approval.