The government cleared 12 development projects worth over Rs500 billion, including two schemes in the constituency of Nazar Gondal, minister for Capital Administration Development Division, with the elections just around the corner.
Clearance of new schemes will undercut the fiscal framework and have adverse implications on the completion of ongoing and already approved projects, say analysts. The move will further stretch the already stretched financial constraints. Diversion of resources to the projects pushed by the power holders has become a norm in the Planning Commission.
The Central Development Working Party (CDWP), headed by the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission (PC) Dr Nadeemul Haque, approved eight projects while another 14 were recommended for the final approval of the Executive Committee of National Economic Council, according to the spokesperson for the PC. He added the body, in principle, approved three projects.
“A total of 37 projects having an estimated cost of Rs590 billion were tabled in the meeting. Eight projects were rejected by the CDWP, while some were deferred,” he added.
In June this year, the total number of approved and ongoing schemes was 1,044, having an estimated cost of Rs1.8 trillion, according to PC documents. Since then the government had held various CDWP meetings and approved many more projects. With the clearance of the fresh projects the total number has jumped to over 1,100 worth Rs2.5 trillion.
In a bid to cut expenses and shut projects approved under political compulsion in the past, the PC carried out a cleansing exercise two years ago and dumped roughly 700 projects.
Due to scarcity of resources, the government allocated Rs360 billion for development projects for the current fiscal year, which was many times less than what had been demanded by the ministries in the Priorities Committee meetings. With the current level of funding it will take at least eight years to complete the ongoing projects without initiating new schemes, according to PC studies. A significant chunk of Rs360 billion was being consumed just to pay salaries, irrespective that civil work was in progress or not.
The spokesperson said that the government approved a Rs209 million road construction project in NA-109, the constituency of minister Gondal. It also approved another scheme worth Rs170.5 million, funds for which will be provided from the prime minister’s discretionary development budget. The premier has already consumed his annual budget of Rs22 billion in just three and half months and this approval will pave the way for seeking fresh funds from the finance ministry.
While objecting over the exorbitant cost of the project, the CDWP returned the third project of the minister, improvement of Victoria Railway Bridge in NA-109 with a direction to rework the cost estimates, said the spokesperson.
The body also took up 17 projects in the energy sector having an estimated cost of Rs73 billion. Five out of these were deferred and the rest were approved. The eight major projects pertained to construction of grid stations and transmission lines in Multan, Faisalabad, Quetta, Islamabad, Peshawar, Hyderabad and Lahore. These projects are funded by the Asian Development Bank.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 23rd, 2012.
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Govt should tell us what projects have been completed in the last 4 yrs or will be complete in the next 6 months. Period.
When the PPP came into government with the MQM, ANP and PML-Q the strategy was simple - loot for the first 4 years and spend government money in the 5th year. If we make it through, we'll have a party for the next 5 years, if we don't..........we'll see you in Dubai.