KARACHI, June 29: Funds earmarked for the construction of Aiwan-i-Riffat have lapsed for eight consecutive years. The city government allocated Rs15 million for the construction of the project, which houses Fyzee Rahamin Art Gallery, this year. The unutilized funds lapse on Wednesday, the last day of the financial year.

The Karachi nazim, Niamatullah Khan, presided over a meeting in April at which it was decided that construction work on the long-forgotten project would begin within 15 days. The then chief secretary, Aslam Sanjrani, officials of Nespak and National Construction also attended the meeting.

It was also decided that an agreement would be concluded between the works and services department of the city government and a consulting firm within four days.

Sources in the city government said that the meeting was followed by some movement of the project file from one department to another. They added that currently the city government’s works and services department was sitting on the file.

They said that two months after the meeting, no on-site work began on the Aiwan-i-Riffat project.

The sources recalled that addressing a pre-referendum rally on April 28, 2002, President Gen Pervez Musharraf had announced a grant of Rs25 million for the ill-fated project. Three years on, the president secretariat has yet to release the funds. At the same public meeting, the president announced an identical sum for the Arts Council. The fund was subsequently released. They also recalled that the construction work on the project started in 1991 but came to a complete halt in 1998.