Bhara Kahu Housing Scheme: Public money being wasted

Senators express ire over irregularities in project, summon NAB chief in next meeting

ISLAMABAD: A Senate panel on Wednesday expressed concerns over delays in the construction of Bhara Kahu Housing Scheme and called for initiating anti-corruption proceedings against those responsible.

The Standing Committee on Housing and Works, in its meeting held at the Parliament House with Maulana Tanvirulhaq Thanvi in the chair, discussed a question asked by Senator Tahir Mashhadi in the Senate regarding the original estimated cost of the Bhara Kahu Housing Scheme for government employees.



During Wednesday’s meeting, senior officials of the ministry of housing and works told the committee that the original cost of the scheme was Rs5.83 billion. They assured that as soon as the construction agreement was finalised by the consultant and signed, construction work would start while the project would be completed within two years.

The officials said about 36,000 federal government employees had registered themselves in the scheme.

Pointing to the suo moto notice taken by the Supreme Court over delays in the project, they said that NEPSAK had told the apex court that over 3,000 plots were located on uneven land and hillocks which were impossible to flatten for housing purposes.

Subsequently, the matter was sent to NAB which was probing the issue. So far, officials said Rs680 million have been recovered by the bureau.

The explanations of the housing and works ministry officials were unable to convince the senators.

The committee noted that road access from Expressway and Bahria Town was still unavailable and NAB was not following the instructions to conduct a probe in the land purchase deal of the Bhara Kahu scheme.



Senator Thanvi said that NAB Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry will be summoned to the next meeting of the committee.

He noted that apart from Bhara Kahu Housing Scheme, there were other housing schemes which were facing inordinate delays, putting a question mark on the performance of the housing and works ministry.

“As soon as a housing project is announced, an organised group rolls into action and starts the business of sale and purchase of files, which artificially inflates the rates of the yet to be developed society causing colossal loss to the public,” Senator Thanvi observed.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 13^th, 2017.