Islamabad:
A parliamentary organization has raised serious concerns about the inclusion of dozens of unprecedented programs in the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) and called to interrupt new highways in Punjab until other provinces carry out current projects.
The senatorial planning committee, chaired by Senator Quratulain Marri, met the other day to examine development allowances and the execution of the project.
Officials of the Ministry of Planning revealed that 1 Billion of Rupes had been spent during the last financial year under the PSDP, while 55 projects included in the current financial year remaining.
Officials assured that no objection certificate (NOC) for new projects would only be issued after a complete evaluation by the planning committee.
In a detailed briefing, the committee was informed that 100 billion rupees had been reserved for the national road 5 (N-5) in Balutchistan, with seven road projects included, supported by foreign funding.
In addition, for the Hyderabad-Sukkur motorway (M-6), the Islamic Development Bank will finance three sections, while two others will be built in the context of public-private partnerships.
Likewise, plans were underway to improve the GT road between Hyderabad and Sukkur.
Senator Sadia Abbasi deplored the state of the main public library of Islamabad, deploring that “books have been infested with termites”.
She announced plans for a new research center and a research library Allama Iqbal in the capital and insisted that the development funds had to be properly used.
“Our remarks are often wrongly interpreted by civil servants as anti-minister or anti-government,” she added.
The senator also questioned the need to establish a new national heritage center, claiming that multiple institutions that overlap were created without clearly needing it.
The president has echoed concerns, stressing the importance of responsibility in development spending.
She said that no new highway should be built in Punjab until the underdeveloped provinces carry out their existing highway projects.
Senator Manzoor Kakar urged the authorities to give absolute priority to the realization of the York-Zhob section of the national road 50 (N-50), because it has crucial importance for Balutchistan.
Meanwhile, the National Highway Authority (NHA) informed the 16-kilometer highway building committee from Lahore to Raiwind, attracting criticism from Senator Marri, who questioned: “Do you build a just highway for a house?”
