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ISLAMABAD:
The Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs met on Thursday and reviewed delays and financial discrepancies in development projects linked to Multan, including the utilization of an Italian subsidy worth Rs 850 million.
The meeting was chaired by Senator Saifullah Abro.
At first, Senator Abro expressed his discontent over the absence of the federal communications secretary.
Communications Ministry officials informed the committee that the secretary was in Multan for the inauguration ceremony of the M-5 highway section.
The president also berated Sindh government officials, criticizing them for calling the secretary late at night to confirm the details of the meeting despite the schedule being mentioned in the committee notice.
The representative of the Sindh government later apologized.
“Do these clever tricks in your own province,” said Saifullah Abro, adding, “this is the Center and such behavior will not be tolerated here.”
The meeting then discussed the status of development funds provided for Multan.
Multan officials informed the committee that the Italian government had converted a $200 million loan into a grant in 2010 to support the social sector.
They said Italy had allocated Rs 850 million for the preservation of the city’s historic buildings. Several PC-1s were approved during the PPP government, but no progress was made after 2015, the committee was told.
The Economic Affairs Division (EAD) claimed that Rs 170 million had been paid to the Italian consultant, while Rs 250 million had been spent on various projects, the Multan official said.
He disputed these figures, saying that no more than Rs 50 million appeared to have been used, adding that the EAD was yet to account for Rs 450 million.
EAD officials said the project was initially prepared by the Ministry of Culture and then handed over to the Ministry of Housing before being transferred to the Punjab government.
Senator Abro questioned how a federal project could be transferred to the provincial government without formal approval and why a 20 per cent consultancy fee had been paid.
National Highways Authority officials said they pay between 2 and 2.5 percent in consulting fees.
The Punjab government official said the consultancy fees were fixed in the feasibility study.
Senator Waqar Mehdi pressed the EAD to clarify the destination of the remaining funds.
EAD officials stated that the Rs 430 million was later diverted to the Benazir Income Support Scheme.
Mehdi said the Punjab government claimed that the money had been allocated to Nishtar Hospital.
“Who tells the truth?” Senator Mehdi asked. “How can funds be transferred from one project to another without approval?”
