QUETA:
The Senate Functional Committee on Least Developed Areas was informed on Monday that several employees of the National Highways Authority (NHA) serving Balochistan had requested their transfer to the federal capital due to the law and order crisis in the province.
The committee met under the chairmanship of Senator Niaz Ahmed.
During the meeting, NHA officials revealed that employees posted in Balochistan had increasingly requested transfers to Islamabad. The committee was informed that even employees domiciled in Balochistan were seeking transfer out of the province.
Senator Jan Muhammad proposed that all NHA employees be banned from traveling by air, while Senator Kumar commented that even Balochistan-based employees were reluctant to serve in their own province.
NHA officials informed the committee that employees serving in Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan receive additional hazard allowance equal to 25% of their basic salary.
The committee was also informed that some employees domiciled in Balochistan were receiving the additional risk allowance despite not serving in the province, raising concerns among members.
During a briefing on the current fiscal year’s development budget, NHA officials informed the committee that 52% of the authority’s development allocation had been allocated to Balochistan, while 22% had been allocated to Sindh.
Officials said no new schemes were being introduced in Balochistan during the current financial year as priority was given to projects that were nearing completion. They added that there are also no new projects in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the focus remains on completing the ongoing projects.
Senator Kumar questioned whether the ongoing projects in KP would be completed during the current year with the existing allocation.
Planning Commission officials explained that the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) was prepared on the basis of projects and not provincial allocations.
Senator Talha Mahmood noted that projects in more developed regions were completed more quickly than those in less developed areas. The committee was also briefed on the NHA workforce and sanctioned positions.
NHA officials informed members that 2,750 employees were currently serving in the authority, exceeding its authorized strength. They added that the authority was currently in a restructuring process.
The committee requested a detailed report on the increase in project costs resulting from delays in implementation. Chairman Senator Niaz Ahmed observed that political factors were also a major reason behind delays and rising costs in development projects.
