PML-N lawmaker moves court against KP govt

 Transferring funds to Battagram nazim

PESHAWAR: A Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker on Friday challenged in the Peshawar High Court (PHC) the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led provincial government’s decision to allocate funds of the MPAs’ approved schemes in the Annual Development Programme for the ones identified by the PTI district nazim in Battagram.

The PML-N MPA, Wali Muhammad Khan, challenged the PTI-led provincial government’s act in the high court through his counsel Barrister Babar Shehzad Imran. He made Chief Minister Pervez Khattak through his principal staff officer, the provincial government through chief secretary, secretaries Finance, Planning and Development and Communications and Works and district nazim Battagram as parties in the writ petition.

The petitioner argued that like other provincial governments, the PTI government has unfortunately also continued the recriminatory policies to pressure the opposition members to refrain from criticising its policies and also lure them to support the government.

The PML-N lawmaker noted that the PTI-led government had adopted the policy of ‘carrot and stick’ with the result that opposition lawmakers have joined the ruling party or were supporting it in the assembly and in consideration thereof were receiving personal favours and approval of their development schemes.

About the facts of the case, it was stated that the present government on the strength of its majority passed the budget for the financial year 2016-17 in June 2016 and got allocated funds was made for various ministries, departments and projects. However, the petitioner maintained that the chief minister kept discretionary funds of billions of rupees for his use and also for his ministers, speaker KP Assembly and other ruling party members. Also, he submitted that a huge amount was allocated to the ruling party lawmakers and ministers under the Annual Development Programme.

The petitioner said he along with Shah Hussain Khan, MPA from PK-60 constituency in Allai tehsil of Battagram, got approved schemes from the provincial budget. He added that construction, improvement and blacktopping of internal road of Battagram tehsil, Thakot-Bana Road through Kalay Koz Cheena was put in the ADP 2015-2016 costing Rs250 million, but only Rs30 million were allocated to the project. He said that on July 22, 2015 the executive engineer Communication and Works department wrote a letter to communicate the detailed scope of work and identify feasible sites to process the PC-1 of the road project and this was done accordingly.

The PML-N MPA claimed that the chief minister wrote a letter on October 5, 2015 to additional chief secretary, Planning and Development Department approving the application of the district nazim Battagram regarding construction of the internal roads of district Battagram as per the ADP schemes.