ISLAMABAD: The much delayed project to establish a Government Degree College for Women in Saddar was discussed in the lower house on Saturday, with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar assuring the house that funds to complete the project will be released.

The project, worth Rs40 million, of establishing a government college for women on Police Station Road in Saddar was started in 2007 and although locals wanted the college to be established, the project was later stopped by the PML-N-led provincial government.

Seeing that no work had been done on the project for eight years, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed raised the issue in the National Assembly on Saturday, saying that drug addicts and criminals take shelter on the site for the college.

“I offered the finance minister my budget of Rs20 million for the project and I requested Ahsan Iqbal, whose mother has worked a lot for education, to do something about the college as well. I got the land for the project from the army under difficult circumstances and the under-construction building needs funds so it can be completed,” Mr Ahmed said.

He added that he had gone to Sheikh Aftab as well who had promised to ask the Prime Minister’s Secretariat to direct the local administration to complete the project.

But the District Coordination Officer (DCO) in Rawalpindi said no one has contacted him regarding the project yet.

Talking to Dawn later, Mr Ahmed said the construction on the college has been stopped by Punjab government like other important projects in the garrison city.

He said that the cost of the project has increased from Rs40 million since 2007.

“I told them that once the work starts, I will give Rs20 million from my MNA fund and the remaining money will also somehow be arranged from other sources, but the government is reluctant,” he said.

The MNA said he had written to the Rawalpindi DCO seeking approval to spend Rs20 million on the college and the DCO had told him that the contractor needed Rs15 million in addition to the 20 million to complete construction.

In the National Assembly session, Mr Dar said all projects for schools, colleges, universities and hospitals will be completed, regardless of which government they started under.

“I ask Ahsan Iqbal to look into the matter,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2016