Failed to deliver: Millions of rupees wasted as artificial plants are removed

Now government plans to plant natural flowers.

PESHAWAR: The artificial flowers — installed on side walls of Arbab Sikandar Khan Khalil flyover on main GT Road — have been removed by the government, resulting in a loss of millions of rupees to the provincial coffer. Now the government has planned to install natural flowers in their place.



The government has now released a fund of Rs20 million to install natural flowers alongside the green belt. It is an unofficial figure that could not be verified from officials concerned.

Opposition lashes out

The opposition parties have denounced the government’s polices by saying they are too immature to run a government.

“Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government’s childish policies have halted development in K-P,” Sardar Hussain Babar, provincial lawmaker from Awami National Party, said while talking to The Express Tribune. “PTI, which has yet to start a mega development project in the province, is busy spending money on non-serious issues.”

He said, “The government should not have spent public money on such projects which they have not properly planned.” He asked, “How it [PTI] will run the government when its own party leadership was not on the same page?”

Another lawmaker, Jafar Shah, told The Express Tribune, “Provincial government failed to deliver what they promised the people.” Denouncing loss to provincial coffer over installation of artificial flowers, he said, it has exposed the hollow policies of the government.

Locals’ disappointment

Locals also criticised the provincial government for such a huge financial loss.

“The government should have properly planned the entire project before executing it,” Muhammad Rafiq, a social activist, told The Express Tribune. “The city needs plants and natural flowers rather than artificial ones.”  He added, “Peshawar is among the worst air-polluted cities across the globe – it needs more greenery rather than plastic flowers.”

 

Anwar Ali, a resident of Peshawar, said, “The government should focus on clearing dust first instead of installing artificial flowers for beautification.”

Minister for Local Government Inayatullah Khan could not be reached on phone despite several attempts. Subsequently, text messages were sent but no response was received.

The potted artificial flowers were installed as part of Peshawar’s “Clean and Green” uplift programme. The provincial government had allocated over Rs500 million for the programme.

Green belts on both sides of the main GT Road were built alongside the Arbab Sikandar Khan Khalil flyover.

The two-kilometre-long green belt was constructed for over Rs18 million by Peshawar Development Authority through a private contractor.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 10^th, 2016.