Senate body slams NHA over ‘poor road conditions’ in Balochistan

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Communications has criticised the National Highway Authority (NHA) for the poor road conditions and mismanagement in Balochistan, while also questioning the establishment of toll plazas that do not benefit local communities.

A Senate Standing Committee on Communications meeting was held on Tuesday at the Parliament House, chaired by Senator Pervaiz Rashid.

The session focused on a notice presented by Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri, highlighting alarming statistics from the Balochistan Medical Emergency Response Centre (BMERC). The BMERC reports indicated that over 46,000 accidents had occurred on Balochistan highways in the past five years, largely due to inadequate road conditions and heavy traffic.

Senator Zehri emphasised the deteriorating state of key roads, including Uthal (N-25), Kalat (N-25), Gwadar (N-10), and Killa Saifullah (N-50), covering a total of 620 kilometers. She noted that despite government allocations, the crucial N-25 remains underdeveloped.

Both the NHA and the Ministry of Communications failed to provide satisfactory answers regarding the utilisation of funds over the past decade.

The senators criticised the NHA for poor road maintenance and questioned the establishment of toll plazas that failed to provide any benefits to the local communities. The committee also discussed the role of overspeeding, overloading, and inadequate driver ethics in contributing to accidents.

The motorway police reported 422 accidents in the West Zone since 2019, resulting in 304 deaths and 952 injuries. However, committee members expressed scepticism that these factors were the sole causes, pointing instead to the NHA’s neglect of proper maintenance and project execution.

The Senate Standing Committee on Communications called for a detailed review of the performance of the Ministry of Communications and the NHA.

Senator Tallah Badar lamented the ineffectiveness of measures taken to address road damage, despite an annual expenditure exceeding 15 billion rupees.

In response, the NHA chairman pointed to funding constraints that impact project development and maintenance, noting that only Rs2.4 billion is allocated for the repair of 14,483 kilometres of roads.

Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Communications Senator Pervaiz Rashid emphasised the urgent need for effective solutions to the road safety crisis. A Senate subcommittee will be formed to work with NHA and ministry officials to develop actionable plans and assess performance, to address the serious road safety issues in Balochistan and beyond.