Ignoring austerity: CDWP approves vehicle purchase, office repair project

Institutional strengthening of PC will cost about Rs200 million.

ISLAMABAD:

Setting aside its much-touted austerity policy, the federal government has approved, in principle, a Rs200-million project for purchasing vehicles, renovating offices and accommodating retired bureaucrats in the name of institutional strengthening and efficiency enhancement of the Planning Commission (PC).

The project was floated by the PC for activities that fall in the category of recurring expenses but was approved as a development scheme by Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal in his capacity as the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) chairman.

The project was approved in breach of the government’s austerity policy that the Ministry of Finance reinforced through a notification last year.



To camouflage the real motive of setting aside about Rs200 million from the development budget, the project has been named Institutional Strengthening and Efficiency Enhancement of Planning Commission Phase-III, according to official documents.

Iqbal’s ministry had proposed the project with a cost of Rs220 million. The minister directed to remove the renovation of one building, PPMI Complex, from the proposed plan.

The total cost of renovation was estimated at Rs31.8 million for PPMI, Shalimar Plaza and other premises of the planning ministry. The remaining component will remain as it is.

While trying to justify the allocation of Rs220 million for the project, the PC has enlisted all those job descriptions under the proposed scheme that are currently performed by various wings of the PC and the Ministry of Planning and Development, the documents showed.

The approval of the project will not only result in wastage of taxpayers’ money but will also cause confusion in the PC over functions and responsibilities of various tiers, according to officials.

During Pakistan Peoples Party’s tenure, the then deputy chairman of PC, Dr Nadeemul Haque, had closed the same project, terming it irrelevant and a source of accommodating retired bureaucrats of the PC.

“The project is a complete waste of money,” said Haque while criticising the government’s decision to revive the project.

Out of over Rs200 million of the total cost of the project, Rs113.5 million or roughly half will be spent on renovation, repair of premises occupied by the PC, procurement of furniture, fixture, telephone charges, janitorial services, purchase of vehicles and petroleum products, according to the PC documents.

An amount of Rs14.7 million will be spent on telephone and stationery, which is a recurring expense but will be treated as development spending.

Additionally, Rs10.9 million was approved for purchasing two vehicles for the project director and one van for staff members and to bear their fuel costs and maintenance.

“There will be a complete ban on the purchase of all types of vehicles both for current as well as development expenditures,” stated the Ministry of Finance’s September 9, 2014 notification.

The CDWP that met on Thursday also approved a Rs581-million project for the national games competition.

It also approved the feasibility study for the Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project at an estimated cost of Rs351.6 million.

In an effort to protect premises of the railways from terrorist attacks, the CDWP approved a project for the procurement of equipment for improved security and anti-terrorism. The total cost of the project is estimated at Rs999.7 million.

The project is aimed at safeguarding passengers as well as trains and railways property.

With a cost of Rs1 billion, the Pakistan Urban Planning Project was also approved. A project for setting up the National Radiation Emergency Coordination Centre, with a cost of Rs863 million, got the go-ahead. The project includes upgrading and establishing centres in Islamabad, Mianwali and Karachi.

The government is planning to construct a small dam in Chiniot and the CDWP gave the green light for conducting a feasibility study of the Chiniot Dam project at a cost of Rs166.4 million.

Published in The Express Tribune, March  6^th,  2015.

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