PM approves proposal to set up Capital Mass Transit Authority
Body to regulate service in city, pay subsidy owed to Punjab counterpart
Body to regulate service in city, pay subsidy owed to Punjab counterpart. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
In a move which is expected to help maintain the Metro Bus Service plying between the new airport and the capital, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Wednesday approved a proposal to set up the Capital Mass Transit Authority.
The decision was taken during a meeting held at Prime Minister’s Office on Islamabad the Metro Bus Project which is being extended to cater to the transportation needs of the twin cities’ residents once the New Islamabad International Airport (NIIA) is completed.
“It is a good decision, and now the government has corrected its course to resolve the subsidy issue which has been pending for a long time between the federal government and the Punjab Mass Transit Authority,” a Capital Development Authority (CDA) official told The Express Tribune.
The authority will plan, operate and maintain the Metro Bus Service.
Abbasi directed that work on legislation — required to set up the authority — should begin forthwith. Moreover, he directed that expertise of the Punjab Mass Transit Authority should be utilised for establishing the statutory body as soon as possible.
The premier also directed the National Highway Authority chairman to ensure that construction work on link roads connecting the New Islamabad International Airport is completed before the stipulated deadline expires.
In October 2016, then prime minister Nawaz Sharif had approved a subsidy sharing formula for the metro bus project plying between the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
That revision had meant that the federal government paid far more than Punjab while its share of revenue had fallen.
However, sources privy to the matter believes that It was a deliberate move to curry favour with the Punjab government, binding it to pay a smaller amount as subsidy while enjoying a greater share of the profits.
Former CDA chairman Maroof Afzal had objected to the controversial formula and had sent a summary to the prime minister in this regard on May 11, 2016.
Under Punjab’s suggested formula, the federal government would pay around Rs1.4 billion of the total Rs2.4 billion annual subsidy for the first fiscal year. On the other hand, the Punjab government would pay less than Rs1 billion.
In October 2016, the CDA received a letter from the prime minister’s secretary which included the premier’s approval for the formula.
Subsequently, the Punjab Mass Transit Authority (PMTA) sent CDA a bill for their subsidy dues.
The CDA forwarded the bill, without amending or objecting to it, to the federal government for releasing the money as per the agreed formula.
However, the federal government objected to the bill and directed the civic body to verify the bill. However, the CDA expressed its inability to verify the bill since it did not have any role or control over the operation or data about the passengers.
With the matter unresolved, the outstanding subsidy amount continued to accrue, rising to Rs3.98 billion.
However, the Capital Mass Transit Authority will now have the mandate to control the metro bus operation in the capital.
“Legally, the federal government cannot directly release funds to the Punjab Mass Transit Authority. Now it would have its own company which will also be involved in the operation and other matters of the metro bus service and the federal government can now release the subsidy money to the authority,” a CDA official told The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 7th, 2017.
In a move which is expected to help maintain the Metro Bus Service plying between the new airport and the capital, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Wednesday approved a proposal to set up the Capital Mass Transit Authority.
The decision was taken during a meeting held at Prime Minister’s Office on Islamabad the Metro Bus Project which is being extended to cater to the transportation needs of the twin cities’ residents once the New Islamabad International Airport (NIIA) is completed.
“It is a good decision, and now the government has corrected its course to resolve the subsidy issue which has been pending for a long time between the federal government and the Punjab Mass Transit Authority,” a Capital Development Authority (CDA) official told The Express Tribune.
The authority will plan, operate and maintain the Metro Bus Service.
Abbasi directed that work on legislation — required to set up the authority — should begin forthwith. Moreover, he directed that expertise of the Punjab Mass Transit Authority should be utilised for establishing the statutory body as soon as possible.
The premier also directed the National Highway Authority chairman to ensure that construction work on link roads connecting the New Islamabad International Airport is completed before the stipulated deadline expires.
In October 2016, then prime minister Nawaz Sharif had approved a subsidy sharing formula for the metro bus project plying between the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
That revision had meant that the federal government paid far more than Punjab while its share of revenue had fallen.
However, sources privy to the matter believes that It was a deliberate move to curry favour with the Punjab government, binding it to pay a smaller amount as subsidy while enjoying a greater share of the profits.
Former CDA chairman Maroof Afzal had objected to the controversial formula and had sent a summary to the prime minister in this regard on May 11, 2016.
Under Punjab’s suggested formula, the federal government would pay around Rs1.4 billion of the total Rs2.4 billion annual subsidy for the first fiscal year. On the other hand, the Punjab government would pay less than Rs1 billion.
In October 2016, the CDA received a letter from the prime minister’s secretary which included the premier’s approval for the formula.
Subsequently, the Punjab Mass Transit Authority (PMTA) sent CDA a bill for their subsidy dues.
The CDA forwarded the bill, without amending or objecting to it, to the federal government for releasing the money as per the agreed formula.
However, the federal government objected to the bill and directed the civic body to verify the bill. However, the CDA expressed its inability to verify the bill since it did not have any role or control over the operation or data about the passengers.
With the matter unresolved, the outstanding subsidy amount continued to accrue, rising to Rs3.98 billion.
However, the Capital Mass Transit Authority will now have the mandate to control the metro bus operation in the capital.
“Legally, the federal government cannot directly release funds to the Punjab Mass Transit Authority. Now it would have its own company which will also be involved in the operation and other matters of the metro bus service and the federal government can now release the subsidy money to the authority,” a CDA official told The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 7th, 2017.