The Cabinet Committee on Institutional Reforms on Friday expressed serious concerns over the encroachment of Pakistan Railways’ land, stressing that if the issue was not resolved, it could jeopardise the Main Line (ML)-1 mega project.
The committee, which met here with Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood in the chair, reviewed progress on the Pakistan Railways restructuring plan. Mahmood reiterated that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was determined to turn the Railways into a profitable entity.
During the meeting, Railways Secretary Habibur Rehman Gilani briefed the committee members on the reforms in governance, operational and financial matters, automation system, human resource and capacity building.
Mahmood noted that on the railway land, people had established settlements, civic facilities had set up electricity and natural gas installations, while link roads and streets were being laid. “If the issue was not resolved timely, it may jeopardise the ML-1 mega project,” he added.
Out of 164,000 acres land, almost 8,000 acres of the railway land is encroached upon, the committee noted. The committee suggested that the Railways hired consultants and set up a separate directorate to deal with the issue of encroachment on a priority basis. Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak advised the Railways to resolve the issue of unmanned crossings before beginning of the work on ML-1.
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