ISLAMABAD, June 5: The development plans of Rs178 million for Bari Imam shrine have been stalled amid a number of inconsistencies and controversies arising out of inclusion of non-local members in the development committee.

Official sources told Dawn that development works, including construction and renovation of the shrine, diversion of a drain, disposal of sewerage, selection of material for the construction of courtyards and walkways. The work was to be completed in two phases, they said.

Giving break-up of the cost of development works, the sources said Rs126 million was to be spent on civil works, Rs12 million on covering the drain, Rs1.1 million on water supply and sanitation works, Rs12 million on electrification and Rs1 million on landscaping. The departmental charges at the rate of eight per cent, amounting to Rs13 million, and contingency work charges at the rate of five per cent, totalling Rs8 million, have been included in the development plans.

The development plan chalked out for the shrine, the sources said, did not include provision of necessary residential facilities for devotees coming from far-flung areas on annual Urs and throughout the year.

The sponsoring agencies, including the Auqaf Department, Chief Commissioner’s Office, and the Capital Development Authority, prepared the initial development plan.

The sources said a number of discrepancies were found in the initial PC-1, submitted by the sponsoring departments, relating to design and lack of specifications for special and essential works. Moreover, the plan failed to incorporate an environment management scheme of the area. The project concept of the development works was returned twice to the capital administration with the directives to incorporate the specific information about civil works and the material required for the floors of the courtyard.

Necessary information was required to check the scope of corruption in the executing agencies of the project, highly- placed officials said.

A visit to the shrine showed that the drain carrying waste and discharge from it was ending up in the Rawal Dam, creating serious health hazards for the residents of the twin cities. Thousands of devotees, without proper accommodation facilities, were seen putting up under the open sky.

Meanwhile, the controversy generated by the decision of a joint secretary in the interior ministry to incorporate non- locals in the development committee of the shrine of Bari Imam has resulted in strong condemnation by advocates, NGOs and elected leaders of the local government.

Raja Zafar Mehmood, Naib Nazim, Tehsil Assembly Rawalpindi, in a letter addressed to President Musharraf, said the committee with non-local members was a negation of the devolution plan initiated by the government and demanded its immediate abolition.

Demanding an inquiry into the partial role of the interior ministry officials, members of the Islamabad Bar Association, in a letter to President Gen Musharraf, said the bureaucracy was deliberately trying to sabotage the devolution plan through decisions taken on individual whims in contravention of the wishes of the local population.

Advocates including Syed Nayyab Hassan Gardezi, Amjad Saeed, Mansoor Khan Abbassi, Syed Khalid Hassan Gardezi, Imtiaz Ahmed Khokar, Chaudhry Abrar Majeed Langah, Naseer Ahmed Kiyani, Raja M Saeed, Shakeel Abbassi, Chaudhry Liaquat and Liaquat Toor in their joint petition to President Musharraf demanded an inquiry to determine the real causes why the interior ministry officials took a partial decision in favour of vested interests.

A Press release, issued in the name of the Bari Imam Welfare Society, said president of Bari Imam Welfare Society (BIWS), Raja Khushdil Khan and its vice-president, Numberdar Zahoor Khan alias Kala Khan, in a joint statement, reposed full confidence in members of the recently constituted development committee by the government for the shrine of Bari Imam and previous such committees constituted from time to time.

They said that these committees consisted of persons who had been ardent devotees of the saint for the past three decades and their integrity and honour was well-established.

The Press release said the BIWS got the restricted area of 20 kanals of the Bari Imam shrine expanded to 100 kanals by taking it back from the usurpers, raised the empty reserve fund to the tune of Rs160 million, and effectively checked monetary corruption.

The Press release said: “The committee amicably resolved the Shia-Sunni tension inside the shrine, the gangsterism, rampant hooliganism, rascality, insult of pilgrims by miscreants and drug-trafficking.”

The BIWS claimed that all the residents, old or new, were the illegal occupants of CDA lands in the area and no one had any property rights.

Contrary to the views of the BIWS, Noorpur Shahan Action Committee, said the role and interference of the Mazar Qabza Group through their front men in the affairs of the locals was highly disliked by the devotees of Bari Imam. “They had tried to hatch conspiracy for dividing the local population to keep their existence and to protect their front man Raja Akram, who has been earning million of rupees from there.” The vested group tries to remain in the committee of the shrine so that the group members could protect their interest through this forum which makes a strong bridge with the local administration,” the Action Committee alleged.

It is to be mentioned that the entire controversy around the constitution of the development committee evolved when the interior ministry officials disregarded the recommendations of a federal minister for constitution of the committee with local representation.

In response to a question, officials of the interior ministry said the management of the Bari Imam Committee had become controversial as it involves the question of millions of rupees collected as donations on the shrine. The amount, collected without any receipts has a lot of scope for omissions and commissions, sources said.

According to the official documents, the Auqaf department is responsible for arranging Rs6.134 million as annual recurring expenditure for works on the shrine. The amount is invariably raised through donations given by zaireen, the sources said. The Bari Imam Welfare Society claimed to have raised the empty reserve fund of the shrine to Rs160 million.