CM not satisfied with pace of work on uplift schemes

While reviewing the progress of 443 ongoing development schemes of the education, rural development and public health engineering (PHE) departments worth Rs33.6 billion, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Friday said he was not satisfied with the pace of work on those projects and urged the relevant departments to complete 205 schemes by June 2019 or else action would be taken against them.

The CM expressed his dissatisfaction over the slow pace of development schemes during a meeting attended by ministers or secretaries of various departments, including the education, local government, PHE and finance departments.

School Education Secretary Qazi Shahid Pervez informed the CM that 201 schemes worth Rs15.15 billion pertaining to school education were in progress against which a sum of Rs6.9 billion had been released, of which Rs3.5 billion had so far been utilised.

The schemes included the establishment of Early Childhood Education Intervention in Hyderabad and Karachi, construction of schools in Tharparkar and construction of shelterless schools in various districts such as Mirpurkhas, Hyderabad, Tando Allahyar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Thatta, Sujawal, Umerkot, Jacobabad, Kashmore and Karachi.

The secretary explained that 60 schemes for which all the allocated amount had been released would be completed by June this year. To this, the CM directed him to complete 118 schemes of shelterless schools and other schools which only required the purchase of furniture in order to be functional.

The CM directed Planning and Development Board Chairman Mohammad Waseem to remove those 118 schemes from the next Annual Development Programme (ADP). College Education Secretary Parvez Seehar told the meeting that 48 schemes of the department were in progress at a cost of Rs5 billion, for which Rs2.1 billion had been released and Rs917 million utilised.

The secretary said 100 per cent of funds had been released for 16 schemes, 50 per cent for 19 schemes while the release of quarter amount had been ensured for the rest of the schemes.

The schemes included the construction of college buildings in Qazi Ahmed, establishment of boys and degree colleges in Ubauro and Gadap, and provision of furniture for colleges constructed in Mirpurkhas, Shaheed Benazirabad and Larkana districts, along with renovation of different colleges.

The CM directed Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah to personally visit the colleges where such schemes were in progress and ensure the completion of 35 schemes by June 2019 as he wanted them to be deleted from the next ADP.

Hassan Naqvi, the secretary of the rural development and PHE departments, informed the CM that work was under way on 49 schemes of the rural development department worth Rs800 million. The finance department had released Rs660 million for the schemes, he said, adding that of the released amount, only Rs9 million had been utilised.

Murad remarked that despite financial crunch, the finance department had released a handsome amount to the rural development department but the money had not been utilised satisfactorily.

The schemes included development of a graveyard at Sheranpur village in Jacobabad district, construction of small roads, link roads and culverts, and installation of solar tube wells. The CM directed the secretary to complete 28 schemes by June 2 and report to him.

Naqvi further informed told CM that the PHE department had launched 145 schemes worth Rs12.7 billion, against which Rs4.5 billion had been released while the utilisation had been Rs1.3 billion.

The schemes included projects related to water supply, tube wells, drainage, control of waterlogging, sewerage and storm drains.

The CM was again not satisfied with the utilisation of the released amount. He directed the PHE secretary to complete the 26 schemes for which 100 per cent of the allocated funds had been released by June. “I would delete these schemes from ADP book in the next budget, therefore they must be completed by June 2019,” Murad said.

The CM directed Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani to personally visit the schemes of the PHE and rural development departments and ensure their timely completion.

The CM also told the planning and development board chairman to send his teams at the ongoing school, college, rural development and PHE schemes to inspect them and send reports on the quality of work.