Peshawar: The Community Driven Local Development (CDLD) programme has been launched in Swabi district, a news source reported. Local Government Minister Shahram Tarakai attended the inauguration ceremony.
He said that the project’s extension to the region is proof of the current government’s commitment towards grassroots level development. The CDLD programme focuses on sustainable development by encouraging active community participation. The minister said that it had changed the course of local governance in KP.
Swabi Deputy Commissioner (DC) Salman Lodhi also attended the event. He said that around 102 community projects were currently awaiting approvals for starting operations in various sectors. A sum of PKR 138 million has also been allocated for their facilitation.
The CDLD Programme District Coordinator Swabi, Hammad Ahmed, lauded officials of the district administration and the government for their contributions. He stated that local communities in various KP districts were currently executing over 4,000 projects, worth almost PKR 5 billion.
The CDLD programme allots 19% of its total budget to women-oriented projects. Meanwhile, 6% of the total budget has been allotted to livelihood development projects and other community infrastructure concerns.
KP government and the European Union (EU) will jointly provide PKR 9.9 billion for implementation of CDLD initiatives in twelve districts. The funds will be doled out in phases until 2020.
The districts directly benefiting from CDLD include Buner, Upper and Lower Dir, Battagram, Chitral, Malakand, Haripur, Swabi, Swat, Nowshera, Shangla, and Torghar. The provincial government has announced that it will ensure continuation of the CDLD project even after its phase out in 2020.
