Court bars transfer of BRT chief

PESCO, SNGPL chiefs chastised for creating hurdles in project

PESHAWAR: A weight has apparently been lifted off the head of the mega transport project being built in the provincial capital after the high court Tuesday imposed a bar on transferring him out of the project until the project is completed.

The direction came as a two-member bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), comprising Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Ijaz Anwar Khan, heard a case on the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.

Upon learning during Tuesday’s hearing that the Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) intends to transfer the project director Israrul Haq, Justice Afridi remarked, “You made a commitment to complete the BRT project within the stipulated time and now you will have to work on it until the project is completed and a report is submitted to the court.”



The court subsequently barred the PDA from transferring Haq unless prior permission is obtained from the court.

The court also reviewed the hurdles in the completion of the project.

During the hearing, when the Traffic Police SP  was asked about the hurdles he is facing in ensuring the smooth flow of traffic, he said that officials of the Sui Northern gas Pipeline Company Limited (SNGPL) had dug up roads to lay new pipelines. But after laying the pipelines, they just cover them up with sand instead of sealing it off using concrete for the better commute of vehicles. As a result, he said, the dirt gives way after a while and ditches start appearing again.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 25^th, 2018.