PM House won’t be converted into varsity

Minister takes notice of irregularities in project

ISLAMABAD:

The plan to convert the Prime Minister’s House into a university failed to make the transition from paper to field during the four-year tenure of former prime minister Imran Khan.

Now, a plan has been made to construct this university in some other area of the federal capital.

Sources informed The Express Tribune that the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has planned to establish the university in some other part of Islamabad, for which HEC Chairman Dr Tariq Banuri will give a briefing to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif soon.

Moreover, On Tuesday, Education Minister Rana Tanvir Hussain took notice of the irregularities in the university project at the Prime Minister’s House and directed officials concerned to give him a detailed briefing within a week.

“How much amount was spent and where was it spent?” he asked. The minister said that he will look into this matter after Eidul Fitr.

According to the documents available with The Express Tribune, serious financial and constitutional irregularities have been revealed in the establishment of the university to be set up at the Prime Minister's House.

Earlier, in the briefing given to the former prime minister, a feasibility report of Rs55 billion was initially presented. However, the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) objected and recommended a cut, limiting the PC-1 to Rs35 billion. Later, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) made further cuts to bring it down to Rs25 billion.

Sources said that with this money, vacant land near PM House was illegally purchased from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and subsequent attempts to develop PC-2 to legalise it was thwarted by officials of the HEC.

Thus, the project has not been able to proceed beyond feasibility even after the passage of four years, they added.

Former prime minister Imran Khan during his election slogans announced to make the Prime Minister's House a university, demolish the Governor's Houses across the country to make playgrounds and educational institutions while opening the President’s House to the public.

In this regard, consultations were made with the former chairman of the PM’s Task Force, who presented the prime minister the PC-1, prepared by HEC, as the one prepared by him by making alleged alterations and increasing the feasibility amount.

Sources said that the project was also stalled due to the high cost. However, it was finally decided to prepare a feasibility report of Rs39 billion. They added that the money was spent on buying vacant CDA land separately instead of converting the PM House into a university whereas, according to the law, land for any project cannot be purchased with feasibility money.

However, when it was pointed out that in order to legalise the land purchased from the feasibility report, the prime minister was advised to prepare a PC-2 of the university and include the purchase of land in it. But, due to the opposition of HEC officials, this illegal work could not be completed.

It should be noted that despite constant announcements and claims, the Prime Minister's House could not be turned into a university, but attempts were made to buy a separate place instead. However, this unique project of its kind has not come to fruition.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 27^th, 2022.