LAHORE, March 15: The district government has not only failed to start work on any of its development projects so far but has also to pay around Rs130 million for hundreds of works executed by the defunct Lahore District Council, ex-Metropolitan Corporation of Lahore and under the Khushal Pakistan Programme.
Floating of tenders for works estimated to cost Rs70 million to Rs80 million for six of the 10 model union councils of district Nazim Mian Amir Mahmood’s favourite UC Nazims last month has been the only achievement of the district government on the development side. Work has yet to start on the projects costing around Rs10 million each in Gulberg, Siddiqpura, Sanda, Makkah Colony, Badami Bagh and Shamke Bhattian model UCs. Even these projects are financed from the Khushal Pakistan funds and not the district government income.
The executive district officer (works) refused to give the details of development projects started by the government to-date. The district officer (accounts) said payment for starting work on any of the development schemes included in the budget for the current financial year had not been released so far.
Contractors Association president Mian Khalid Sharif said only around Rs9 million had been paid to the contractors on the intervention of district Nazim during the past about eight months whereas around Rs100 million were payable for works executed for the ex-MCL, including Rs30 million payable for works executed to help the Pakistan Muslim League candidates win the last general elections. Around Rs40 million were payable for about 220 schemes executed for the defunct Lahore district council.
He said not only the procedure for payments to contractors had been lengthened and complicated after devolution but the condition for enlistment with the district, town and 150 UCs separately had also made it impossible for the majority of around 150 contractors to stay in business as they did not have the means to pay thousands of rupees for enlistment at every level every year. Previously the contractors were required to be registered only with the defunct Lahore district council and the MCL to compete for contracts in the district.
He said contractors received their payments after the scrutiny of their bills by the overseer, SDO and the executive engineer before devolution. Now the bills were to be verified by the UC Nazim, EDO (works), EDO (finance), DCO, district Nazim and his scrutiny committee consisting of six UC Nazims two of whom were former contractors. Even the cheques had to be approved through the same channel after the bills had been approved and returned through it. The lengthy procedure delayed the payments inordinately. There was no provision for Nazim’s scrutiny committee in the law but it was there.
Insistence of the district government officials to enlist only those contractors for construction of roads who owned their own asphalt plants in the presence of half a dozen plants owned by the Lahore Development Authority, MCL and highways department in the city was aimed at establishing monopoly of only two contractors on road construction works in the provincial metropolis. The previous practice of allowing the contractors to procure asphalt from MCL or LDA for carpeting of roads should be restored failing which the two contractors owning asphalt plants would dictate rates to the district government, he said.