The Pakistan Community Support Project (PCSP) Friday organized cheque distribution ceremony of Rs. 29 million as the first installments among the
community representatives to initiate 15 priority local dev
elopment schemes in the project target districts including Khyber, Peshawar and Nowshera.
The total worth of the first batch of approved projects is PKR 108 million which includes street pavements, drainage facilities, water supply schemes and farm-to-m
arket roads, said a press release issued here on Friday. Speaking at the occasion, the Director General (DG), Sustainable Dev
elopment Unit, Suhail Khan said, “PCSP has made significant progress within a short span in the project corridor which is a testament of the level of determination and involvement of the
communities including youth, elders and ulema to lead their own dev
elopment priorities”.
The project’s Grievance Redressal Mechanism has also been set up to ensure the quality, quantity, and delivery of the sub-projects through gathering suggestions and addressing complaints of the
communities, he added.
The first instalment cheques of 30% were handed over to the Presidents of the Community Dev
elopment Councils (CDCs) which have been established and organized under t
he PCSP.
These funds will be utilized for the dev
elopment of
community infrastructure schemes i.e., street pavements, improve drainage facilities, build water supply infrastructures, and develop rural roads. The implementation of all the sub-projects will be carried out by the
communities through their CDCs with the assistance of the project’s technical staff and social mobilization partners. Earlier, the Project Director PCSP, Till
at Fahad, while addressing the ceremony said, “this is not just a cheque distribution ceremony, but a demonstration of the government’s trust in your ability and potential to steer your own dev
elopment for a better future”. The
communities ensuring the timely and quality completion of their ongoing sub-projects will be provided more funds for other sub-projects in the future, she added. PCSP also encourages the participation of women and youth in the dev
elopment activities through special financial allocations and proper representation in the CDCs.
The sub-projects which have been provided with the mobilization funds are among the local dev
elopment schemes under t
he PCSP, supported by the World Bank with funding from the Pakistan Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF).
The project aims to improve access to local infrastructure and basic services while strengthening citizen engagement in the project’s three target districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, including Khyber, Peshawar, and Nowshera in the Corridor of Influence.
The project has been designed and implemented using a
community-driven dev
elopment approach so that
communities can actively participate and receive socioeconomic benefits. The ceremony also gave a platform to the
community representatives to share their experiences about the project implementation so far, followed by a question-and-answer session.