QWP leader terms BRT project waste of funds

PESHAWAR: Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) leader Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao said on Tuesday that the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project was a waste of public funds.

Speaking at a news conference here, he said the BRT, a flagship mega-development project of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, caused billions of rupees loss to the provincial kitty.

He said the work on this project was initiated without completing its feasibility report. Sikandar Sherpao maintained that the project had become a total failure due to frequent changes in its structure and design.

He questioned billions of rupees investment on ill-conceived BRT project.

The QWP leader added that the PTI government was now closing the Project Management Unit for pinpointing flaws in the project.

Following the report of the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) into irregularities in the BRT, Sikandar Sherpao said another report has pointed out the use of substandard material in the construction work.

Sikandar Sherpao said the transparency was compromised on the project. He demanded that responsibility should be fixed and its planners be held accountable for wasting billions of rupees.

The QWP leader added the funds spent on the Peshawar Beautification Project were also wasted when the BRT project was launched.

“This project (BRT) destroyed all the plants and roads which were built for the city’s beautification,” Sikandar Sherpao said, holding the provincial government responsible for the poor planning and the waste of public funds.

He said that the BRT was now a test case for the National Accountability Bureau. The QWP leader said that questions were being raised about the role of NAB for being partial and targeting the political opponents of the rulers.

He said if NAB was impartial then it should look into the allegations of corruption in the BRT project. He said the BRT project had become a headache for the government as it missed several deadlines to complete it.