Rs5.3 billion allocatedfor Women and Children Hospital in Rawalpindi

Rawalpindi: Though the federal government has made huge allocation of funds worth Rs5.3 billion for restarting work on suspended mega project ‘Women and Children Hospital,’ near Eidgah, Asghar Mall Road yet the people have to wait for at least one year or more to see this scheme materialised into reality.

Former MNA and leader of PML(N), Shakil Awan told that the Prime Minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has approved the feasibility report of Women and Children Hospital at old site of tuberculosis hospital and allocated Rs5.3 billions for this purpose to the Punjab government.

However, the allocation of funds for this health scheme would be made in the coming national budget for the year 2018-19. As soon as the funds are released, work on the incomplete health project would kick off immediately.

It merits to mention here that the project of Women and Children Hospital was inaugurated during the regime of President Pervaiz Musharraf way back in 2007 and almost 50 per cent work on this institution had been completed. However, with the takeover of PPP government in the Centre and PML(N) in Punjab work on this mega project suspended only because of political reasons in 2008 which still remains incomplete since then.

Shakil Awan after getting elected as MNA from NA-55 in 2010 bye-elections had stated then that the Punjab government wants to restart work on incomplete project of Women and Children Hospital but the ruling party in centre PPP is objecting over it by describing the matter as a federal subject . Due to this political reason, the work on this scheme remained neglected and ignored during this regime.

Similarly, when PML(N) formed its government both in centre and Punjab as well in 2013, people believed that now the work on this health institution would kick off without any further delay. The Punjab government headed by Chief Minister, initiated number of health schemes to the tune of billions of rupees in certain parts of Punjab particularly Rawalpindi to make improvement in this sector. However, ironically not a single penny was allocated in any of the budget over the last four year for restarting work on this incomplete health institution. According to analysts and observers, the work on Work on Women and Children Hospital still remained ignored and neglected by the Punjab government of PML(N) because the idea of constructing this health institution was floated by former Federal Minister Sheikh Rashid. Now when the general elections are not far away, the PML(N) has made allocations of huge funds for this project just to win the hearts of people and score political points. The term of present government is near to end with the interim set up for three months.

This would be followed by general elections in the country. All this process would take another 9 to 10 months to complete. Will the interim government would release the allocated funds of Rs5.3 billions made by PML(N) before the general elections remains a dream. Moreover, if there is a new political set up after general elections, will the policies and decisions of the present government would be accepted and enforced creates a question mark in the minds of people. On this grounds, the people have to wait and keep on guessing whether the health scheme would really be transformed into reality before the start of fiscal year 2019-2020.