IT & Telecom: Arfa Karim institute not to see light of the day this year

Zero new schemes to be launched in the capital.

ISLAMABAD:

It appears that Prime Minister (PM) Yousaf Raza Gilani’s announcement to establish an information technology institute in the capital named after IT whiz kid Arfa Karim will not come true this year.

For the new fiscal year, there was no mention of such a project by name in the budget, while this is the incumbent government’s last year in office. Arfa had an epileptic attack last December last year, slipped into a coma and died in January, aged 16. Attempts to contact the PM’s spokesperson were unsuccessful.

The Punjab government has however made good on its promise and Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif inaugurated the Arfa Karim Software Technology Park, a state-of-the-art information technology centre on Ferozpur Road in Lahore, in February.

Despite the Rs2.9 billion allocations to information technology and telecom in the fiscal year 2012-13, the federal government has failed to launch new information technology or telecom projects in the capital. Last year, Rs1 billion for all ongoing projects were used up by June.

Major allocations in Islamabad this year include Rs106.646 million for a data centre and intranet, budgeted at Rs493.802 million. Rs61.431 million have been allocated for the replication of e-offices in all divisions of the federal capital, a project that will have cost the government Rs163.649 million on completion. Rs15 million have been allocated for the e-enablement of the Federal Investigation Agency, a project budgeted at Rs35.645 million.

A sum of Rs10 million has been allocated for the computerisation of the PM’s Secretariat, while Rs36.294 million is the estimated cost of this project. An amount of Rs8.26 million has been allocated for the e-enablement of the establishment division, a project budgeted at Rs37.214 million; Rs28.325 million have been spent on the project up until now.

An amount of Rs100 million has been allocated for the provision of e-services for the Capital Development Authority, budgeted at Rs175.618 million. An amount of Rs10 million have been allocated for the long-awaited land revenue records managements system in the rural areas of the Islamabad Capital Territory; Rs88.654 million is the total cost of this project.

An amount of Rs9.691 million has been allocated for e-services for the Islamabad Police, whereas Rs110.921 million is the cost of this project. The cost for providing e-services at the chief commissioner’s office is Rs80.405 million — Rs8.456 million will be given for the project in 2012-13.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 3^rd, 2012.