Afridi orders rapid count of cart, stall peddlers in Peshawar
DLP Report
PESHAWAR
Provincial minister for local government Meena Khan Afridi has expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of the capital metropolitan government Peshawar, warning that negligence and incompetence will no longer be tolerated.
Chairing a meeting on metropolitan affairs, the minister criticised the ineffective service delivery and directed immediate corrective measures across multiple sectors.
Secretary local council board Waheed-ur-Rehman briefed the meeting on various administrative, financial and operational matters of the metropolitan government, a handout said.
The meeting reviewed issues related to bus terminals, the city fire brigade, educational institutions, municipal industrial homes, women’s skill centres, parks and other public services.
A proposal to hand over the fire brigade and certain educational and technical institutions to their respective line departments was also discussed.
According to the briefing, the capital metropolitan government Peshawar manages 518 kanals of land, employs 200 daily-wage workers, and oversees 4,354 municipal property units.
It was decided that no cart or stall peddlers were currently registered within the metropolitan limits.
Details were also shared on ongoing development projects, including a five-storey commercial plaza near Kohati Gate featuring 37 shops and 24 residential flats, and a three-storey plaza in Faqirabad comprising a hall, basement, seven shops on the ground floor and three flats on the first floor.
The forum was informed that the metropolitan government also manages four bus terminals in the city, from which a total of Rs 62 crore has been collected.
In addition, it oversees three educational institutions, 25 handicraft centres and the city’s fire brigade, the latter described as a growing financial burden.
The minister directed authorities to determine the actual number of cart and stall peddlers within one week. Expressing strong displeasure, Meena Khan Afridi said the overall performance of the metropolitan government was unsatisfactory, noting that services in Wazir Bagh remained substandard despite substantial public spending. He instructed that work on lighting, beautification and encroachment removal along Circular Road must begin next week without delay.
