January 26, 2007	Friday	Muharram 06, 1428

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RAWALPINDI, Jan 25: The Punjab government has expressed dissatisfaction at the slow pace of work on various segments of the Rs5.14 billion Rawalpindi Environment Improvement Project (REIP).

Presiding over a meeting of Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA), Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) and the Project Management Unit of REIP, Punjab Secretary Housing and Physical Planning Khalid Sultan expressed his indignation at the slow pace of work on the project.

The meeting was attended by City District Nazim Raja Javed Ikhlas, Rawal Town Nazim Sheikh Rashid Shafique, Director-General RDA Brig (retired) Pervez M Khan, Managing Director Wasa Brig (retired) Noorul Hassan, Project Director PMU Aslam Sabzwari and other high officials of the respective civic agencies.

Sources privy to the meeting told this reporter that the housing secretary took a serious notice of the faulty machinery purchased by the REIP’s high officials for solid waste management.

Under the project, the PMU was required to install 29 tubewells, replace old sewerage lines, install a sewerage treatment plant and some other important components of the project, but the authorities failed to complete any of the projects despite availability of huge funds given by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Punjab government.

It is to be mentioned here that PMU had recently purchased Rs4 million worth of 40 receptacles (garbage bins) but the department of solid waste management refused to use them because of their small size and technical flaws.

Similarly, the authorities awarded the contracts for installation of tubewells at rates higher than the cost mentioned in the PC-I of the project.

Sources said that work on the laying of a new sewerage network was yet to be kicked off despite lapse of two years adding that negligence on part of the authorities concerned had annoyed the secretary.

An official confided in this reporter that City District Nazim Raja Javed Ikhlas had also snubbed the officials for their failure in completing any component of the project. Quoting Mr Ikhlas, the official said that Wasa and RDA were directed to pursue the environment project effectively and according to the priorities of the residents.

The official said that Wasa was told to strengthen itself institutionally in accordance with the instructions of the Planning and Development Board in order to successfully implement the environment project.

Meanwhile, a statement issued after the conclusion of the meeting said that installation of 29 tubewells in the city was in the final stages while contract had been awarded for the repair of 32 old tubewells.