PESHAWAR: Faced with a financial crunch, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has embarked on a controversial plan to sell its properties, including one of the province’s largest and oldest industrial estates, to generate resources for its development outlay.

The plan that has met with stiff resistance from the bureaucracy as well as one of the ruling PTI’s own federal legislator, is seeking, among other things, to commercialise the industrial estate in Peshawar, that critics say will render 22,000 people jobless, many of them women working in pharmaceutical and other factories.

Sources with knowledge of the controversial plan say Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has held several meetings on the subject to mull the proposal asking the government departments to share details of the public properties in KP.

“Every time there is a meeting, the only thing that comes to his lips is: generate money,” a source familiar with the issue said.

“We have hit the financial blind alley,” he said.

The proposal, multiple sources said, was being actively pursued by the Economic Zones and Development and Management Company (EZDMC) headed by Ghulam Dastagir, an industrialist, who also owns a factory spread over a five acres plot in the industrial estate.

Critics insist 22,000 people including women to lose jobs if plan executed

Critics say while industrialists like Mr. Dastagir stand to benefit from the windfall, thousands of workers stand to lose jobs.

Mr. Dastagir denies there is any vested interest behind the plan or that there is any conflict of interest involved in the proposition.

“My factory is spread over five acres and I will suffer huge losses in case of dismantling it and for no reason I am going to do so,” he said.

However, sources said while the government departments had dutifully dished details of public property across KP for potential sale, some officials were opposed to the move citing legal and other issues.

“Nobody is willing to put a noose around his neck for some whimsical decision taken by others,” a source said.

The industrial estate situated sandwiched between Peshawar’s posh residential Hayatabad Town and the bustling Karkhano Bazaar has become a prime land.

With industries in KP already on the verge of collapse due to locational disadvantages and lack of financial and economic incentives, the plan if executed could create further problems besides aggregating the problem of growing unemployment.

The proposal first stirred a controversy when PTI’s sitting federal legislator, Senator Mohsin Aziz, wrote a letter to the government bitterly criticising the plan.

Mr. Aziz, an industrialist by profession, who, like Mr. Dastagir, owns factories in the industrial estate, described the move “against spirit of industrialisation,” “anti-employment and anti-labour.”

Dawn has a copy of his letter.

Consequently, sources said, the Planning and Development (P&D) department also moved a summary to the chief minister opposing the commercialisation of the industrial estate saying it will create massive unemployment.

However, sources said Mr. Khattak had pushed the matter under the carpet.

Dawn has copy of the official letter, too.

On May 30, 2016, two weeks before the provincial budget was presented, the chief minister while chairing a meeting directed the department heads to identify poorly-utilised state-owned land for commercial use to generate an estimated Rs12.7 billion.

The decision to commercialise the estate was made in a meeting, which took place on July 18 followed by meetings on August 1 and August 18.

Mr. Mohsin Aziz, who stepped down as the vice chairman of the KP Board of Investment and Trade (KPBOIT) citing personal reasons, wrote a letter to the ACS saying in July, KP has floated proposal to convert industrial estate into commercial area.

He notes that currently, this estate was accommodating thousands of workers, technicians other staff besides women workers particularly employed in pharmaceuticals sector.

“The idea of commercialisation is against the spirit of industrialisation and is anti-employment, anti-labor and converting area for commercial activities, thousands of labors will be rendered jobless causing severe criticism by media and other quarters,” it noted, adding on other hand industrialists and plot owners will reap windfalls by pocketing large chunks of money by selling the land or converting their units into residential colonies and markets.

“By dismantling my industry I will be most beneficiary as this land being just opposite to commercial markets would fetch maximum price but still being the son of the soil, loyal to this land and considering the condition of the poor and the statement of the unemployment in this province, I am ready to forgo this windfall profits and oppose the idea of commercialising this industrial estate,” Mr. Aziz wrote.

The P&D department while opposing the proposal said the land for industrial estate was acquired for establishing an industrial estate in accordance with the Land Acquisition Act 1894 and the conversion of the industrial estate might be in conflict with that law.

It asked the government to review the conversion decision in the best public interest and to obtain views of the KPCCI and law and industries department to avoid further complications.

The estate in question is spread over 868 acres of land and there are about 324 units according to the defunct SDA figures and of this 212 were operational, 43 closed, 62 under construction and 7 plots were allotted.

KPEZDMC chairman Ghulam Dastagir told Dawn the industrial estate’s occupancy at this moment stood at 29 percent, while property dealers had occupied the rest.

He said following the formation of the KPEZDMC, the assessment found out that grid from where the estate got electricity also supplied power to tribal areas and that there was no electricity for new industrial units.

He said that the commercialisation will help in reviving industries as the industrialists many of whom suffering losses due to insurgency will use the money coming from commercialisation to revive their businesses.

Mr. Dastagir said commercialisation would create around 15,000 new jobs and it was optional.

“About 60 percent of proceeds of commercialisation would go to provincial exchequer and 40 percent to the industrialist. It is likely to generate about Rs6 billion from this venture,” he said.

Provincial industries secretary Farah Hamid said various departments were involved in the matter and that it was far from over.

She said there was a divergence of opinion on the issue as some departments were against it, while others favoured it.

“It is a row like situation,” she added.

Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2016