SHANGLA: The tehsil municipal administration (TMA), Alpuri, here has cancelled 77 small uplift projects approved in the annual development programme (ADP) for fiscal year 2019-20 after the contractors failed to execute them. Funds for these small schemes were arranged by minister for labour Shaukat Yousafzai.

A document obtained by this correspondent under the right to information rule from the TMA, Alpuri, revealed that it had cancelled those projects pending after their approval in 2019-20 ADP and arrangement of funds by Mr Yousafzai.

These schemes included that of water supply, sanitation, digging wells, suspension bridges, road repair, construction of graveyards, water tanks, protection walls, repair of pedestrian tracks and others for which Rs0.5 to 1.5 million each were approved. The work orders were also issued to the contractors winning the projects.

The TMA document mentioned that the cancelled projects were mostly awarded to the contractors on roughly 40 per cent less than the actual cost. For example, a project estimated by civil engineers to be worth Rs0.5 million was won by the contractors on 68pc of this allocated amount and then they failed to execute respective projects in the given funds.

Minister asks authorities to ban contractors failing to execute projects

The government had approved these 77 projects in different union councils of Alpuri tehsil, Dehrai, Pir Khana, Malakkhel, Lilownai, Ranyal, Kuz Kana, Damorai, Pirabad, Shahpur and Kormang.

The TMA also warned the contractors’ firms to avoid violation of rules in future.

Faisal Zeb, MPA from PK-24 Shangla, told this scribe that the basic issue was that contractors won the schemes on 40pc less value than the actual cost and then they failed to execute them.

He said the TMA could only issue notices to the contractors, most of whom had political affiliations.

When contacted, Shaukat Yousafzai, who was elected from PK-23, told this correspondent that he had made efforts to build pressure on the contractors for execution of their projects. He said when they failed he had to ask the TMA to cancel the schemes and issue fresh tenders.

He said he had directed the executing agencies to ban those contractors who violated the rules in execution of the projects.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2022