Islamabad Capital Territory - Rural areas: plans aplenty, zero results

Rs1.1b were approved for development projects in 2009, Rs3.8m were released.

ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of millions of rupees worth of development projects were planned for the rural areas of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) in 2009 but were not completed.

The incomplete projects include several road rehabilitation, widening and reconstruction projects and school upgrade projects worth Rs2.3 million. A planned two-day weekly bazaar in Bhara Kahu was also not made. Similarly the plan for a water supply scheme in Sohan was approved but never materialised.

Local Government Assistant Director Hassan Abbas said that the budget approved for the rural areas in 2009 was Rs1.1 billion, but the administration received only Rs3.8 million.

Abbas said that the developments projects for the rural areas are still pending due to unavailability of funds, and work on the projects will be started whenever the planning commission releases the funds. He said the local government held several meetings with the planning commission in an attempt to get the budget released but to no avail.

The floods in monsoon season also wreaked havoc in the rural areas, damaging bridges, streets and roads. The cost of the damages done is estimated by ICT Administration to be more than Rs830 million.

Hassan said that the administration forwarded a request to the planning commission to secure funds for these damages, but they did not receive a response.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 2^nd, 2011.