K-P govt fails to beautify Peshawar,adjoining area

Lack of robust policy framework to utilise funds for programme led to millions of rupees being wasted

PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government has failed to utilise funds allocated to the Peshawar Beautification programme owing to the inability to formulate a robust policy to manage funds for the project.

Millions have been spent to place potted flowers on the main GT road, however, they were removed  by authorities three times last year.

The cause of removal was the flowers being spoilt due to air pollution, in particular, dust.

In 2016, under the project, potted natural flowers were put in place on the walls of the Arbab Sikandar Khan flyover while the rest on the main GT Road of Peshawar.

However, they were removed because a blanket of dust confined the leafs of the flowers.

Later on, potted artificial flowers had been placed instead of natural flowers.



The estimated cost was Rs3 million via a private contractor but yet again, the flowers attract dust from the roads, leading to their removal from the main GT Road and fly over.

On a third occasion, the flowers were placed at GT Road and under the newly constructed flyover near Bala Hisar Fort.

Again they were removed with officials saying they were installed by the contractor just as samples and no payment was given by the government.

The potted flowers were a part of the Peshawar Beautification Program, for which the government received a dispensation of one billion rupees for the entire program.

The government has to spend Rs550 million until June 2016 with expenditures on other projects to construct a green belt alongside the main GT Road with a cost of Rs18 million.

According to budget documents of 2016-17, the government will again allocate Rs 90 million for the same on-going scheme for this year.

Similarly, Rs360 million is to be allocated for the same programme in the provincial budget for the year 2017-18.

This will take the total allocation up to one billion rupees.

The latest figures available show along with previous year's release, the government is set to release over Rs220 million in the on-going financial year, out of which over Rs179 million has been spent till January 2017.

Peshawar Beautification Programme Director Muhammad Shakil said that the flowers had been put in place by the contractor on a trial basis in regard to the third removal.

Shakil added that the Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) did not pay the contractor for the samples.

He did, however, point out the reasons for multiple attempts to install these flowers.

He said the city is full of dust owing to uneven roads near the bus stands on main GT Road.



These vehicles release dust from their tires which remain as residue on the flowers and this gives an ugly look to the greenery.

Upon being questioned if the government was aware of this fact then why did they go ahead with the placing the flowers, he refused to respond.

Shakil said that proposal submission of Rs1.5 billion to pave roads in rural and urban areas of the city to address the pollution issue is in the pipeline.

He added that bidding for the endeavour would be announced soon.

Residents of Peshawar lamented that the initiative is confined to the main GT road and Hayatabad.

While the rest of the city is surrounded by solid waste with no proper mechanism in place to beautify it despite fund allocation for the entire city.