ISLAMABAD: Heated arguments were witnessed between opposition members and those of the ruling party during a session of the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) session on Tuesday when the opposition leader criticised Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry.

Diverting from the agenda, opposition leader, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Ali Awan said that the CADD minister, who is also a local MNA, is using funds in different union councils without taking local government representatives on board.

The CADD ministry has nothing to do with the affairs of the local government as MCI falls under the administrative control of the Ministry of Interior.

In his speech, Mr Awan said that poor health and education conditions in the capital city raise questions about the performance of the CADD minister, “who did nothing in his tenure”.

He said the condition of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences and Polyclinic is miserable and that the education sector is also facing problems when the grant given by Michelle Obama is yet to be utilised for the educational institutions of Islamabad.

Some ruling party members interrupted the opposition leader, asking him not to use the MCI platform for political point scoring after which heated arguments started between members of both parties.

Islamabad Mayor Sheikh Anser Aziz and some other MCI members intervened and asked their fellow members to restrict themselves to the agenda only.

However, both the treasury and opposition benches were on the same page regarding the allocation of Rs13 billion in the upcoming budget and passed a unanimous resolution in favour of the mayor. They lauded his efforts for the inclusion of development projects in the Public Sector Development Projects.

During the session, MCI Chief Officer Syed Najaf Iqbal gave a briefing regarding the approval of funds and different development projects.

The mayor said the approved funds will be spent on the Islamabad bus service, Rawal Lake water treatment plant, machinery for emergency and disaster management, the construction of a town hall, the construction of two union council offices, the up-grading of the Marghazar Zoo, beautification projects, sewerage and sanitation system, water supply scheme for rural areas, construction of connecting roads and other sanitation and welfare projects.

The house was informed that staff from the environment wing has been deputed to ensure the cleanliness of graveyards in H-8 and H-9 and the issue of allocating space for graveyards in the rural parts was also discussed.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2018