RAWALPINDI: Development funds have begun pouring into the garrison city areas earlier neglected by the provincial government, especially following the opposition PTI’s announcement to mobilise the citizens against the ruling party for alleged corruption.

NA-52, the constituency of Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, comprising the Potohar Town, also remained neglected for three years.

A senior leader of the PML-N told Dawn that the development activities were being launched mainly for two reasons. “The general elections are scheduled to be held in 2018 and the government wants to complete the projects before that. Secondly, the opposition will take advantage if there are no development works.”

He said for the improvement of water supply, the main problem in Potohar Town, the provincial government had released Rs800 million soon after the start of the fiscal year 2016-17.

The interior minister has also promised to provide Rs1.8 billion for the construction of a hospital, graveyard, playground and sports complex in the same area. The city district government Rawalpindi (CDGR) is all set to start these projects.

A senior official of the CDGR added that eight schemes, costing Rs803 million, would be launched in NA-52 and its surrounding areas to improve the water supply system as soon as possible.

He said water supply schemes worth Rs242.855 million would also be initiated in Morgah, Kotha Kalan, Dhoke Chaudhrian, Gulraiz Housing Scheme and adjacent colonies.

These projects included the laying of a trunk, secondary and lateral sewers in the eastern side of Murree Road (Rs51.500 million), installation of three tubewells along with water supply and sewerage system in PP-14 (Rs10.507 million), installation of 13 tubewells (Rs58.630 million), replacement of old pipelines (Rs75 million) and extension of water supply network in NA-52 (Rs100 million), laying of sewer lines in NA-56 (Rs60 million) and water supply scheme for Dhoke Raja Mohammad Khan, Chaklala, (Rs27 million).

The official said for the last one month the provincial government had been showing an interest in launching the projects and completing them on a priority basis, and directed the departments concerned to start work on all the pending schemes in the middle of August.

He said in the last fiscal year, the government had imposed a 35pc cut on development funds of all the departments but this year it started releasing funds soon after the start of the new fiscal year.

“It is unusual as in the past the development works in the garrison city used to be started after the monsoon season. More funds will be coming for NA-52 by the end of the current month.”

He said the CDGR was also preparing the PC-I of the projects announced by the interior minister for his constituency in June, costing Rs1.8 billion.

In reply to a question, he said no funds had been released for the downtown areas, including Raja Bazaar. He admitted that the development projects had been launched in the constituency of the interior minister and PP-14 of Raja Hanif Advocate.

PTI MPA Arif Abbasi told Dawn that his party had bagged over 70,000 votes in NA-52 in the 2013 elections. He said the PML-N wanted to complete the development work six months before the next general elections.

He said the government had ignored the areas where PTI’s six MPAs and two opposition parties had won, including NA-55 of Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and NA-56 of Imran Khan.

He said the development schemes in NA-56 were limited to PP-14 from where the PML-N had won.

“In my constituency, not a single rupee is being spent to improve water supply system, roads and streets,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2016