progress
Success stories from the implementation of Community-Driven Local Development Policy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- ON THE ROAD TO CHANGE -
Community-Driven Local Development in Dir Lower
Dir Lower, for the most part, represents a rural characteristic. However, recent shifts in the economic and cultural dynamics of the area have resulted in a streak of urbanisation which is quite visible at its central town, Timergara. During the last two decades, the people of Dir Lower have demonstrated immense potential towards regional trade and business development. A significant portion of the working class are employed abroad, particularly in the Middle East, from where cash remittances sent back play a significant role in running the local economy .
The people of tehsil Adenzai in Dir Lower are renowned for their traditional hospitality and cultural heritage. Of late, a new wave of community activism and citizen participation for local development is also taking place here. Meet Noor Mahal, an educated woman with a Masters in Pashto Literature, who proudly hails from the union council Ouch Sharqi in tehsil Adenzai. For long, she has endeavoured to work for the economic development and social empowerment of the women of her area. Since April 2014, Noor has remained actively involved along with other women of the village council Mian Batan in running adult literacy schools under the European Union funded Programme for Economic Advancement and Community Empowerment (PEACE).
My biggest wish is to see the women of my area contribute along with their men for the social and economic betterment of the community as a whole. Women are not inhibited by any cultural norms or social barriers to play their part for the betterment of the society. Rather, the primary reason in my opinion remains the lack of opportunities presented to them which have so far stopped them from making the best use of their abilities. There are many determined women who are also as educated as the men. They direly feel a responsibility towards the community as a whole, but needs the means and resources to fulfill that. Noor Mahal, President Subah Ki Kiran, CBO Dir Lower
Stats and Facts of CDLD Minimum project funding is Rupees 0.5 million and maximum is Rupees 2.5 million Community project must be completed within a timeframe of 18 months or earlier For women specific projects, 15% of the total district allocations are exclusively reserved Minimum of 10% of the total project cost must be borne by the community in cash or kind After the completion of the project, operation and maintenance would be the CBO’s responsibility
Besides inadequate delivery of basic services, the dilapidated road infrastructure in Ouch Sharqi is one of the major impediments to social transformation of the people. The unpaved road structures in the area have restrained other rural development initiatives to take off here. Development workers and non-government organisations have also had problems accessing the area, besides government representatives facing difficulties in reaching out. So the road structure had to be improved before any other development initiative could be planned and executed for the people of Ouch Sharqi.
The first stone in this rough and arduous path has been laid on the 1st of January, 2016. On that fateful day, a local community based organisation (CBO) formed by the residents of Ouch Sharqi including women and men entered into an implementation agreement with the Office of the Deputy Commissioner. Under the agreement, the CBO entitled as Subah Ki Kiran has been granted a project for PCC road construction. This is truly remarkable in the sense that no such project has ever been awarded or implemented by a women CBO, which in itself is the change that the CDLD Policy has promised. Both the President (Noor Mahal) and General Secretary (Riffat Mahal) of the CBO are women nominated unanimously by its members.
The Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa launched the CDLD Policy to improve the quality and delivery of basic services by involving ordinary citizens in prioritising and implementing their development needs. The CDLD Policy is being piloted for implementation in the six districts of Malakand Division, including Dir Lower. Offices of the Deputy Commissioners are overseeing and coordinating the implementation of community level infrastructure projects (ranging from Rs. 0.5 million and Rs. 2.5 million, over a maximum period of 18 months) in partnership with the CBOs which are formed, supervised and managed by the community members themselves .
Noor Mahal signing the contract agreement in the office of Deputy Commissioner, Dir Lower
Update on calls for proposals (Dir Lower)
Round
First
Applications
Proposals
Amount
FIRST (March 2015)
415
212
83
PKR 129 million
SECOND (April 2015)
535
307
84
PKR 133 million
THIRD (July 2015)
827
88
in process
not yet awarded
FOURTH (October 2015)
470
data entry on MIS completed
to be initiated
not yet awarded
of Applications
applications received
sent to SRSP
approved by DDC
of projects approved
After successfully completing the first application in March 2015 and the detailed proposal steps afterwards, Subah Ki Kiran was awarded the project to build a PCC road to connect the village to the main access road as well as to the adjoining villages. The 360 feet infrastructure project also contains a retaining wall to sustain the soil pressure to add to its durability and strength. The construction of road will enable men, women and children to commute inside and outside the village with relative ease. It is anticipated that the road structure will also help workers, agriculturists and transporters to get quick access to larger towns thus providing them with better livelihood opportunities.
Identified site for PCC road and retaining wall project located in village Surbat, Union Council Ouch Sharqi
“The construction of this road will add convenience to our lives by linking our village with the main road. We will be able to travel in all seasons without having to worry about persistent rain during monsoon or freezing cold in the winter. However, there are many boxes that still need to be ticked. There has never been an instance where women were involved in the road construction or civil work projects before. We still have to work out issues like understanding the engineering standards, mobilising specialised resources for road project and conforming to the government civil works rules�. As Noor and her CBO team prepare for their community and leadership management skills trainings planned next, Subah Ki Kiran is proving to be the light of optimism that breaks at dawn.
How does CDLD help? Through its technical assistance teams, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CDLD Programme is supporting the district authorities in Dir Lower on a range of topics to ensure that the communities have the required skills and capacities to carry out their development projects. Also, the social mobilisation component of CDLD (managed by Sarhad Rural Support Programme) is working with CBOs at all stages to ensure that the projects are designed, developed and delivered according to the given specifications, timelines and outputs. CDLD Policy Implementation Unit Local Government, Elections and Rural Development Department Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Telephone: 091 9210528
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Fax: 091 9210323
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Web: www.cdldta.pk
EUROPEAN UNION
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Facebook: www.facebook.com/kpcdld