LAHORE, April 27: Execution of hundreds of development schemes started in the less developed areas of the provincial metropolis for boosting the referendum campaign of President Gen Pervez Musharraf are in jeopardy due to administrative snags.

District Nazim Mian Amer Mahmood announced completion of development schemes of Rs10 million in each of the 150 union councils by the end of June at a meeting of the contractors at Jinnah Hall a few days ago to give a boost to the referendum campaign.

Work on the schemes funded from the Rs358 million special grant released by the federal government under instructions from President Musharraf and another Rs100 million made available under the Khushhal Pakistan Programme has been started after inviting tenders and even formal inauguration by the district Nazim or the town Nazimeen but payments are not being made to the contractors.

District Government Contractors Association president Khalid Sharif said the contractors were being told to stop the work as funds were not available with the district government to make the payments.

He said the contractors failed to understand why they had been asked to start the work on the projects if funds were not available for their execution.

He said work had been started on the Khushhal Pakistan Programme projects estimated to cost over Rs80 million.

Suspension of work has created an embarrassing situation for the union council Nazimeen and the contractors. The former are worried about their political reputation whereas the latter are concerned about the completion of the works within the specified period of three months after the award of contract.

The contractors who have started work on the projects on verbal orders in anticipation of the issue of the written orders are more worried than others.

As many as 610 development schemes were to be completed in the slum and less developed areas of the provincial metropolis from the presidential grant alone. The schemes to be completed under the Khushhal Pakistan Programme were in addition.