Bleak future: Educational projects gone awry
Delay in construction escalates cost by Rs15m, adds to woes of local people.
RAWALPINDI:
The failure of contractors in completion of two college buildings has not only escalated the cost of the projects but also added to the woes of the residents of Dhoke Syedan in Rawalpindi.
The two incomplete college buildings are serving as the dens of drug addicts and spelling nuisance for the locals.
Construction work on the projects was suspended in 2009, following the shortage of funds, government officials said.
About 50 per cent of the work on the facility for girls has been completed, while 30 per cent of the work on the building for boys has been done.
“The buildings have been left incomplete for the last two years as the contractor had stopped work after non-payment of dues and the hollow structures have become a bane for the residents,” said Anwar Ali, a local resident.
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly MNA Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had laid the foundation stone of the two colleges in 2008 with an emphasis to complete them by the start of the academic session, he said.
“There has been no college in the area and the need for at least two degree colleges in the densely populated locality has been felt that could ease the burden for parents in modest income groups,” said Muhammad Farooq another resident of the locality.
When contacted, the Punjab Works Department told The Express Tribune that provincial government had to pay about an additional Rs15 million for the completion of the projects owing to the delay for over one year.
An official seeking not to be named shared that the building for girls’ college was started in May 2008 and was to be completed in May 2009 costing Rs32.36 million. So far 70 per cent work has been completed and for the rest of the work, an additional amount of Rs5 million was needed.
As far as building for the boys’ college was concerned, the construction work started in June 2009 and was to be finished by June 2010. The total cost of the project was estimated at Rs12.5 million but an amount of Rs10 million is still needed to complete the remaining work.
In response to a question about the contractor of the project, the official said the contractor was last paid in 2010 and since then, no funding had been released for the project.
When contacted, Deputy Director Colleges Rawalpindi Rana Muhammad Javaid said the project was said to have been declared a non-funding scheme.
“We have time and again written to the concerned authorities to release the funds for the colleges, which are a long standing demand of the people,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 17th, 2012.
The failure of contractors in completion of two college buildings has not only escalated the cost of the projects but also added to the woes of the residents of Dhoke Syedan in Rawalpindi.
The two incomplete college buildings are serving as the dens of drug addicts and spelling nuisance for the locals.
Construction work on the projects was suspended in 2009, following the shortage of funds, government officials said.
About 50 per cent of the work on the facility for girls has been completed, while 30 per cent of the work on the building for boys has been done.
“The buildings have been left incomplete for the last two years as the contractor had stopped work after non-payment of dues and the hollow structures have become a bane for the residents,” said Anwar Ali, a local resident.
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly MNA Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had laid the foundation stone of the two colleges in 2008 with an emphasis to complete them by the start of the academic session, he said.
“There has been no college in the area and the need for at least two degree colleges in the densely populated locality has been felt that could ease the burden for parents in modest income groups,” said Muhammad Farooq another resident of the locality.
When contacted, the Punjab Works Department told The Express Tribune that provincial government had to pay about an additional Rs15 million for the completion of the projects owing to the delay for over one year.
An official seeking not to be named shared that the building for girls’ college was started in May 2008 and was to be completed in May 2009 costing Rs32.36 million. So far 70 per cent work has been completed and for the rest of the work, an additional amount of Rs5 million was needed.
As far as building for the boys’ college was concerned, the construction work started in June 2009 and was to be finished by June 2010. The total cost of the project was estimated at Rs12.5 million but an amount of Rs10 million is still needed to complete the remaining work.
In response to a question about the contractor of the project, the official said the contractor was last paid in 2010 and since then, no funding had been released for the project.
When contacted, Deputy Director Colleges Rawalpindi Rana Muhammad Javaid said the project was said to have been declared a non-funding scheme.
“We have time and again written to the concerned authorities to release the funds for the colleges, which are a long standing demand of the people,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 17th, 2012.