ISLAMABAD, Sept 12: Work on most of the infrastructural development projects in Balochistan has come to a standstill as the government has not released funds to contractors for the past four months.

The contractors have warned the government of severe repercussions if the province is affected by the government’s decision to cut the current Public Sector Development Plan by Rs100 billion.

A source in the Planning Commission told Dawn that work on the construction of roads which would connect the province with Iran, Punjab, Sindh and Gwadar had been stopped owing to unavailability of funds.

He said that Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani and some members of the provincial cabinet held a meeting with Planning Commission’s deputy chairman Salman Faruqui on Thursday.

They expressed concern over the freezing of development funds at a time when the province needed special attention from the government.

He said the chief minister told Mr Faruqui that the people expected a better treatment from the PPP-led coalition government and it should be more open-hearted in the release of development funds to the province.

He said that members of the Balochistan cabinet thought contractors were justified in stopping work as funds meant for them had not been released of late.

The government has allocated Rs42.5 billion for Balochistan in the current fiscal year’s PSDP.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani has also allocated Rs3 billion for the province’s uplift.

The provincial government is seeking more funds from the federal government to rehabilitate people affected by floods.

The members of the provincial cabinet told the Planning Commission that the Yemyeni cyclone had affected more than 100,000 people. The residents of Turbat suffered the most after water overran the embankments of Mirani dam.