A RECENT 27-page report by the provincial inspection team on the progress made on the multibillion-rupee Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit project has presented a picture of large-scale ineptitude, mismanagement of public funds, shoddy design and planning, and a political recklessness that has resulted in the wastage of money, inconvenience to commuters and local businesses, and immeasurable harm to the environment including the city’s air quality.

The detailed inquiry was carried out on the orders of KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan after public outrage over the project was expressed.

In particular, questions were raised regarding the project’s completion, since the route runs along the GT Road — the city’s main artery and economic lifeline.

The Peshawar High Court, too, demanded more transparency and asked why the project — which was supposed to be completed in July 2018 — is still far from over.

Kick-started in haste on October 2017 by the KP government, less than a year before the 2018 general elections, the initial six-month deadline has been extended several times, without even meeting its latest target, which was last month.

The reasons given for the latest delay include unfinished work, the non-availability of buses, and apprehension over the traffic bottlenecks that have been created in its wake, with 11 choking points having been identified along its 26km-long route.

Since being initiated, the project has gone through several stages of ‘make, break and remake’, while the initial loan taken from the Asian Development Bank of Rs49bn has risen to a whopping Rs67.8bn.

The PTI government’s own good work carried out in the previous five years towards easing traffic congestion seems to have been demolished by one rash decision.

And there are still some questions being asked about whether or not the completion of the BRT project will actually improve the city’s traffic and commuting issues.

It is also worth remembering this government’s own criticism of the previous dispensation’s emphasis on the metro projects that were undertaken in Punjab, which it then tried to replicate in Peshawar — as opposed to focusing more on health and education.

Given the mounting criticism and growing embarrassment, the government recently sacked the transport secretary and the director general of the Peshawar Development Authority, who it held responsible for the delays and poor execution of the project.

The Peshawar BRT should stand as a lesson in political hubris.

Competence surpasses confidence. But it is a different story in this case.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2019