PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly member Ziaullah Afridi on Monday moved the Peshawar High Court against the dropping of an approved multimillion rupees development scheme of Peshawar by the provincial government and requested the court to order the scheme’s restoration.

Mr. Ziaullah filed a petition under Article 199 of the Constitution requesting the court to declare the dropping of an Annual Development Programme scheme titled ‘Integrated Development Package for Mahal Terai and surrounding areas of Peshawar’ from the ADP 2015-16 and 2016-17 as illegal and unconstitutional.

The petitioner said the respondents including the provincial government were bound to allow funds for the said project and work may be initiated in its true letter and spirit.

In the petition filed by senior lawyer Shumail Ahmad Butt, respondents are the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government through planning and development secretary; the chief minister through his principal secretary; the local government secretary; Peshawar Town I nazim, and town municipal officer Town I.

Mr. Ziaullah was a PTI leader and was elected as MPA from PK-I Peshawar in 2013 general elections.

Later, he was made first a special assistant to the chief minister and later a mines and mineral development minister.

Ziaullah seeks restoration of Integrated Development Package for Peshawar areas

The petitioner claimed that he was implicated in a false case by the KP Ehtesab Commission at the behest of some leaders as he was perceived as a potential threat due to his growing popularity.

He was expelled from the PTI by central leadership after he accused some leaders of framing him in false cases.

Mr. Ziaullah said for the betterment of the inhabitants of his constituency PK-1, he had perceived the said developmental scheme.

“The scheme was part of the provincial budget as ADP Scheme No 782 in 2015-16 and was passed by a

definite majority of the provincial assembly’s elected members as per the provisions of the Constitution,” he said.

The petitioner said the ADP scheme consisted of a number of pro-poor social service delivery activities comprising roads, sanitation projects, water supply schemes, school buildings, rehabilitation of streets and roads, which were in deplorable conditions and other services to be identified by the representatives of the said area.

He claimed that for the consultancy of the said project, Rs27.9 million

was approved and Rs3.6 million had been paid to the Engineering Architecture Consultants for starting work on the feasibility and designing etc.

Mr. Ziaullah added that the consultant after feasibility study submitted PC-I which included water supply, sanitation, roads and filtration plants at the cost of Rs970 million, which was the need of day for the inhabitants of Peshawar.

He claimed that as he was conceived as a threat and became included in bad books of the chief minister and therefore, he decided to teach him a lesson and deprive people of his constituency of any development work.

The petitioner said the chief minister without having any authority dropped the said ADP scheme with a single stroke of the pen through an executive order during a ‘so-called’ mid-year review meeting on June 10, 2016.

He added that the move was based on political considerations and on the basis of personal likes and dislikes.

Mr. Ziaullah said as already allocation of Rs200 million had been made for it, the project could not be struck down at the desire of the chief minister.

Published in Dawn January 17th, 2017