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| Work on REIP comes to a standstill due to hurdles |
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Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Saeed Ahmed
Rawalpindi
The Project Management Unit (PMU), a section of Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa), has finally abandoned the work on much trumpeted Rawalpindi Environment Improvement Plan (REIP) due to impediments in the way of implementation on several components of the project.
Reliable official sources told ‘The News’ here Tuesday that the PMU was facing several hurdles in the way of implementation on different components of REIP like sewerage treatment plant in Adiala, Gorakhpur, and laying of sewerage pipelines from Liaquat Bagh to Adiala via Cantonment areas. The concerned civic body was not cooperating with the PMU relating to funding for work on laying sewerage pipelines. The Punjab government had even meddled into the matter, but to no avail.
The residents of Gorakhpur and Adiala were also resisting to hand over their land or property to the PMU on government rates.
Under these circumstances, it had been difficult to continue work over the project, which was to be completed in five years since the time of inauguration of work on the project.
Taking notice of the situation, the Punjab government and the city district government had been changing the project directors time and again to achieve better results. However, no positive outcome to expedite work on the project was achieved. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 2008 had warned to stop funding on REIP, if the pace of the work was not intensified.
According to sources, in more than 30 months time, the PMU now headed by project director, Salim Raza had completed one component of the project, which included installation of new tube wells in different union councils that too because of the pressure of the concerned nazims and naib nazims during the era of the PML (Q) government.
The PMU in order to lay out sewerage pipelines had dug out the roads in front of Eidgah, Asghar Mall Road, some streets in Satellite Town and Arya Mohallah, but has not completed the task till date. The total cost of the REIP project when inaugurated was estimated Rs5 billion, but due to slow pace of work on it, the cost had enhanced by Rs3 billion. Moreover, the PMU also failed to acquire land for laying Sewerage Treatment Plant in Gorakhpur, but had been giving wrong picture to the public through print media, the sources claimed.
However, PMU project director, Salim Raza commenting over the issue said that work on REIP has been stopped on temporary basis due to some reasons. The Punjab government has directed the concerned body i.e. PMU to devise a strategy, which include making categories for division of funds allocated for the project.
Salim Raza said that under the new strategy of categories, the funds would be allocated by ADB and the Punjab government to the executing body and contractor only when the work on the particular component is near completion.
“The higher officials would first inspect the scope of work done on any component before clearing the bill to ascertain the standard of work. Under this new policy there is no chance to swindle the funds by any official or contractor,” he added.
He said that the summary of the strategy has been submitted to Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif for consideration and approval. Immediately after its approval, the work on this project would restart possible by the end of the current month, he added.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
