F.P. Report
PESHAWAR: Expressing his satisfaction over the progress in the construction of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), the Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pervez Khattak has said that BRT is the only project in the country that has been completed within a short span of time and minimum expenditure.
He said that the total expenditure of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) construction and other expenses including purchase of buses, land, commercial plazas, drainage system, foot-path and expansion of road has been made public, while the governments in Punjab and Islamabad had shown only the financial expenditure of the construction of Metro Services with that trick Punjab government had concealed the total expenditure of its Metro Services.
The Chief Minister made this statement at the provincial cabinet here on Thursday. The relevant officers gave detailed briefing to the cabinet meeting chaired by the Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pervez Khattak. The chief minister said that in real terms only 30 billion rupees are being spent on the construction of BRT, however, other expenditure on the purchase of buses, land, commercial plazas, drainage system, foot-path and roads increased the total allocation of this project.
This amount of Rs.30 billion is far less than what had been spent on Metro Project of Lahore and Islamabad. Provincial Ministers, Addl: Chief Secretary, Administrative Secretaries and other relevant officials also attended the meeting.
The cabinet was informed that in the interest of public, few amendments have been made in the BRT project. After these amendments, flyovers at Tehkal, Gulbahar, Firdous Chowk and Airport had been included in the project. The cabinet was assured that all the debris from the construction sides will be removed and roads on both the sides of Bus Rapid Transit would be developed into model arrangements by 30th April 2018. This will help for the smooth sailing of traffic because all obstacles would be removed by April 30.
The cabinet was further informed that in order to redress the traffic problem on permanent basis, the 20-years plan was prepared in 2013 with the financial assistance of ADB. 27-kilometer long road of this project is being completed with its designed approved by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). BRT according to the plan is part of 20-years strategy designed to permanently resolve the traffic problem in the provincial metropolis.
It further said that Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) had Okayed the project with an estimated cost of Rs. 57 billion and it obtained clearance from Planning Commission of Pakistan.
However, Central Development Working Party (CDWP) had approved the project with a reduced cost of Rs.49.346 billion in May 2017. The cabinet was further informed that the entire process of planning including bidding was approved by the ADB and media was in picture on each and every aspect of this process. The cabinet was told that Pajagi to Warsak Road would be ready for transport by 10th May.
The chief minister directed that the completion of Ring Road from Warsak to Hayatabad should be completed with expeditious manner. With the completion of this project, traffic rush would be reduced on the main highways of Peshawar to a greater extent, briefing further added.
The chief minister further directed to meet road requirements; further projects should be planned on the pattern of Ring Road. The chief minister warned that no negligence would be tolerated in the completion of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project. All those officials if found guilty for negligence or delay of the project would be removed from the project positions.
The cabinet also approved Civil Procedure Code Amendment Bill-2018, after which the time-barred cases would also get condonation. Before this amendment, cases were not maintainable after the passage of 90 days, new arrangements will be subject to approval from the provincial assembly.
The cabinet also approved the utilization of profit to be earned from the power houses to be built on the reserved land for forests. It is decided that 2 percent of the income would be spent on the development of forests and trout fish farms.
The cabinet further approved motor-vehicle ordinance 1965 for the reconstitution of Regional Transport Authority. The next session would take place on 24th April 2018 to finish the remaining portion of the agenda.
