Court moved for blocking Peshawar bus project

JUI-F’s Maulana Haqqani files petition; says ‘flawed’ mega project ‘will burden the pubic with loans’

PESHAWAR: A writ petition has been filed in the Peshawar High Court (PHC), asking it to stay the execution of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, and declaring it illegal.

Maulana Amanullah Haqqani of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) filed the petition on Saturday, just two days after the project’s inauguration, citing “technical and legal flaws” in the project.

Through his counsel Essa Khan, the petitioner submitted that there were a number of flaws in the project design due to which it was bound to fail and the public would be unnecessarily burdened with loans.



No feasibility report had been prepared, he said, adding that no development work could be taken up without such a report.

“The project’s draft design was never prepared while its preliminary design was approved even before preparing a detailed design. This also violates normal procedure for executing any development project,” the petitioner submitted.

Objection was also raised by the Provincial Developmental Working Party (PDWD) to the approval of PC-1 before detailed design, claimed the petitioner, expressing concern over a possible public inconvenience in alleged absence of alternate arrangements for movement of traffic in the city.

“Also under the project, old transport system will be replaced which will (render) transporters jobless, besides having a negative impact on city’s businesses,” he said.

With a few months left in the expiry of the government tenure, starting such a big project, likely to become a liability for the coming governments in the province, could not be permitted legally, according to the petitioner.



The project, he pointed out, also lacked approval from the Central Developmental Working Party (CDWP) and the Executive Committee of National Economics (ECNEC).

No assembly approval

The petitioner also pointed out that the project had not been approved by the provincial cabinet or the provincial assembly, as required under Articles 129, 130, 120 and 124 of the Constitution.

He stated that it was not possible to run such a huge project without subsidy and it would be a constant burden on the exchequer of the poor province.