Senior PDA officials questioned in BRT probe on PHC directive

PESHAWAR: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has interviewed a number of Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) officials as part of the probe into the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project on the directives of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), a source told The News.

The source said that a former director general as well as directors and other officials of the PDA were questioned regarding the supervision, construction and other issues of the controversial BRT project.

"The process of briefing, interview and questioning of the PDA officials continued till around 8pm after it started at noon," the source added. The record collected from the PDA is already being examined by the FIA team and the experts.

The FIA has constituted a special team headed by an assistant director to probe 35 points of the project on the directives of the PHC. The probe is being supervised by additional director FIA Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Mian Saeed Ahmad.

A PHC bench headed by Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth in November directed the FIA to probe 35 points of the BRT project and submit the report within 45 days. The FIA had to complete the inquiry before mid-January. In the next phase, the source added, the record of KP Transport Department and Planning and Development Department would be collected and relevant staff interviewed. The PDA recently filed a petition in the Supreme Court of Pakistan for stopping the FIA inquiry into the BRT project.

The project has been under criticism due to the huge costs involved, the failure of the construction companies to complete it within the given time and the traffic bottlenecks on main roads caused by the construction of the BRT. Traffic in Peshawar remains chocked at many places on the main routes due to the project. The city, already congested and crowded, has been experiencing severe traffic jams.

The source said the FIA is probing a number of issues, including the high cost amounting to Rs66.43 billion being spent on the 27.37 kilometres long road, which comes to Rs2.427 billion per kilometre. The FIA is also investigating the mismanagement, flaws in design, nexus of officers and other issues on the directives of the high court.