Chitral lawmaker asks KP CM to note delay in executing Booni-Torkhow road project

PESHAWAR: Shahzada Iftikhar Uddin, Member of the National Assembly from Chitral, has appealed to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak to take note of the stalled work on the Booni Buzund Torkhow Road and help expedite the project to benefit the people of the area.

Talking to The News, he remarked that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should come out of its inertia and complete this road project if it wishes to be the party of change.

Shahzada Iftikhar Uddin said the people if the area were suffering due to the politicization of the road project by the Jamaat-e-Islami-led finance department in the coalition government and the PTI-headed communication and works department. He felt delaying tactics were being used in execution of the federal PSDP-funded Booni Buzund Torkhow as the provincial communication and works department had to build the road. “If the KP government cannot give new projects to Chitral, it should at least not impede the federal government’s PSDP projects that are in the public interest,” he maintained.

Unable to seek the attention of the chief minister, Shahzada Iftikhar Uddin decided to approach Chief Secretary Mohammad Azam Khan for help. He asked him to direct the secretary communication and works department and the PSDP chief for KP to expedite submission of completed forms to Planning Commission for release of Rs100 million for PSDP project number 192 titled “Booni Buzund & Torkhow Road.” He pointed out that the federal government was willing to release the funds if an official cover letter for release of Rs100m and submission of expenditure certificate for Rs100m already released for the project in December 2016 was sent along with the completed forms.

According to the reform-minded MNA from Chitral, the non-serious attitude of the provincial communication and works department had already caused lapse of Rs150m funds in 2016-2017. He lamented that repetition of such a lapse will be a gross injustice to his remote district and its people.

He pointed out that delay in executing the road project has resulted in depriving Torkhow of SNG Air Pre Mix Gas Plants approved for seven other locations in Chitral. He said the SNG plants need 22-wheeler gas tanker trucks with four bridges having load bearing capacities of 30 metric tons and all this is included in the road project, but the delay is a major source of worry for the residents of Torkhow.

Shahzada Iftikhar Uddin said the chief minister should take serious notice of the delays invariably caused by the communication and works department as it submits finance requests to the Planning Commission late by up to six months. He claimed further delays are caused by the provincial finance and communication and works departments due to their lethargic attitude. Besides, he said the communication and works department is unable to arrange explosives for the project in time while the land compensation is often delayed by the district administration. He asked the chief minister to make use of modern technology to monitor projects to ensure timely completion and quality control and seek the views of the public for keeping a check on those tasked to execute the work.

In another message sent by Shahzada Iftikhar Uddin to the chief secretary, he pointed out that the Booni Buzund Torkhow road project had hit snags and gone past the time limit of June 2017 set for completion date of PC-1. He complained that the communication and works department has wasted four years since 2013 and eventually submitted Rs100m finance request on August 29 after the time limit. He requested the chief secretary to ask the secretary communication and works department to now submit request for extension of time for the completion of the project through the federal finance ministry to the ministry of planning as per rules and procedures set by the Planning Commission for consideration of the CDWP.

Shahzada Iftikhar Uddin noted that he was frustrated to the point of resigning as an MNA as a protest against the excesses of the PTI-led KP government because its communication and works department’s negligence caused delays in executing the road project.