Khizar Hayat Abbasi;
MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan has directed official concerned to make sure transparency in collection and distribution of Zakat money to restore the confidence of Zakat donors.
Addressing a high level meeting of Central Zakat Council here on Friday, he directed the officials to make significant reduction in the administrative cost of the Zakat Department and ensure hundred percent transparency in the procedure of Zakat collection and its distribution among the deserving people.
“It is crucial that those who give Zakat should know that where the money they donate is being spent and also they should have access to all the information of the Zakat collection and its disbursement”, Prime Minister emphasized.
Terming the increase of Zakat and Usher collection this year, the Prime Minister said that it is matter of great satisfaction that Rs 2 million have been collected on account of Usher which is a sign that confidence of the people have started restoring in the Zakat collection and disbarment system.
He directed the official of the Zakat Department to open the record of the system by allowing the Zakat donor to check record if and when they want so.
He said that his government will also make an appeal to the overseas Kashmiris to deposit their Zakat in the Zakat Department of Azad Kashmir but we will do so only if our system is hundred percent transparent to the entire satisfaction of the Zakat donors.
He said that AJK Government is currently providing help from the Zakat money to the medical treatment of deserving patients, stipend to the deserving students, enabling them to pay their fee and cover the cost of books and other education related expenses, besides helping common deserving persons.
The Prime Minister also ordered for submission of a Working Plan for construction of Zakat offices in all districts of Azad Kashmir to overcome the problems being faced in absence of the offices.
Earlier chairing a meeting of a board of directors of Power Development Organization (PDO) the Prime Minister said that development of Hydro power sector is one of the priorities of his government.
He said that AJK can achieve self reliance by developing the sector to increase its income.
He said that concern institutions are working hard to tape the potential of power generation by utilizing the abundant local resources.
The Prime Minister directed the official of PDO to work hard for timely completion of the Power Projects to provide cheap electricity to the people of Azad Kashmir and to overcome the Power crisis prevail in the country.
He said that it is more essential to expedite the development process in the sector as AJK will get water use charges from all Hydel projects equal to that other provinces of Pakistan are getting.
Earlier the Prime Minister was told that there is potential of 9059 MW from 81 hydel projects so far identified in Azad Kashmir.
The development work on 81 projects with power generation capacity of 3894 MW is underway in the public sector while 30 hydal projects with power generation capacity of 5164 MW are operational in the public sector.
Similarly 30 hydal projects with power generation capacity of 5164 are operational in the private sector. The AJK Government is getting 12702 million revenue from 17 completed power generation projects while 11 projects of 147 MW would be started soon.