Commissioner refuses to sign bills of contractors

Rawalpindi: Commissioner Rawalpindi Division Amir Khattak has refused to sign the bills of ‘dug up’ roads in the city because the project has been rejected by the Deputy Director (Development). The Deputy Director (Development) had rejected the summary of re-carpeting of roads because all city roads were in fine condition and did not need any kind of carpeting.

Ironically, the Metropolitan Corporation Rawalpindi (MCR) Infrastructure & Services department misguided former commissioner Rawalpindi Division and got him on board to start digging up roads for re-carpeting.

Most of the roads had been dug up before the general elections but the carpeting of the roads is still pending and it has created dust and pollution in the area. The dug-up roads have become bumpy causing inconvenience to the users. The development work was launched in 42 schemes for Rs2.075 billion. The work was allegedly started on the demand of local leaders of a political party while RMC said it was an old repair and maintenance project and would be completed soon.

The Commissioner Rawalpindi Division Amir Khattak told ‘The News’ that he has stopped signing the bills for payment of roads. “I will not sign bills before my satisfaction because we don’t have money for wastage,” he said. He also said the former commissioner approved this project but I will not sign the bills without my full satisfaction, he said. He said that he would never bear any kind of corrupt practices. “I will take strict action against corrupt officials who have wasted money by misguiding higher authorities,” he warned.

Travelling on dug-up roads in the city due to the negligence of Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC) has made life difficult for motorists for the last two months. Deputy Director (Development) Rawalpindi Muhammad Mazhar Nadeem said that he has already rejected this project. “The MCR (Services & Infrastructure) officers brought this proposal of re-carpeting of roads to me which I had rejected. The committee led by the deputy commissioner rejected this project and gave strong remarks that the country doesn’t have money for waste. The road’s condition in Rawalpindi was fine so MCR should spend funds for some other public welfare projects but the MCR (I&S) department was insisting on approval of this project, he claimed. “We will never allow MCR to ‘dig up’ Murree Road at any cost,” he warned.

The broken roads are Liaquat Road from Liaquat Bagh to Fawara Chowk, Chandni Chowk, Kashmiri Bazaar Road, Rashid Minhas Road, Asghar Mall Road, and several others. Civic body chief blames work delay on elections. Some key post officers from the Punjab Highways Department on condition of anonymity said that the condition of city roads was fine. There was no need for re-carpeting of city roads. The MCR department wanted to earn ‘commission’ through the road’s contract. It is a criminal offence and waste of national wealth so higher authorities should investigate this serious issue and bring the corrupt officers to court, the officers claimed.

Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC) Chief Municipal Officer Amjad Chaudhry said work on the carpeting on the dug-up roads will be completed in the coming weeks. “Due to general elections, labour was not available and we will complete the work on the repair of roads soon,” he said. He said funds for the development schemes were available with the civic body. The RMC had launched the schemes with its funds and would start development schemes in other parts of the city soon after completing the carpeting on dug-up roads. The private contractors on condition of anonymity said that the commissioner has stopped our payment bills therefore we have stopped work.

Talking to ‘The News’ residents of the city have shown strong anger at the corrupt practices of MCR officers and said that in most areas there was no sewerage system. If MCR had funds in its kitty then it should have worked on the sewerage system. “Why are they wasting a huge amount on re-carpeting of roads, higher authorities should investigate this issue,” people bemoaned. “Motorists find it difficult to drive on the roads, which results in traffic snarls at several places. Even public transporters face difficulty driving on these roads and cabbies and motorcycle riders refuse to go downtown,” said Israr Ahmed, a resident of Sir Syed Road.