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Event Title: Senator Qurat Ul Ain Marri, Chairperson Senate Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Presiding over a Meeting of the Committee at Parliament House Islamabad
Event Date: 2025-03-24
The Meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, chaired by Senator Quratulain Marri held at Parliament House, Islamabad. The Meeting was attended by Senators Jam Saifullah Khan, Shahadat Awan, Liaqat Khan Tarakai, and Dr. Afnan Ullah Khan. Officers ncluded Secretary, Planning & Development, Chairman, National Highway Authority (NHA) and Joint Secretary, Finance and others concerned Officers.
Secretary, Ministry of Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives along with the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Finance briefed the Senate Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Special Initiatives about the disbursement of funds for Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) projects in Balochistan for the fiscal year 2024-25. The briefing covered the allocation status, fund releases, and the progress of ongoing projects. During the briefing Balochistan government officials revealed that the projects initiated in the province face unnecessary delays in release of funds that results in revision of projects cost which ultimately faced by the province of Balochistan. The Balochistan government representatives urged for timely provision of funds.
The Ministry of Finance further informed that they have received total 30 projects’ proposals under PSDP 2024-25, wherein out of cumulative authorization issued by the Ministry of Planning upto Quarter 3 of Rs.51,548 million for Provincial PSDP Projects, Rs. 13,254 million was authorized for Balochistan and till date Rs.9,692 million has been released by the Ministry of Finance. While explaining the procedure of the distribution of funds the officials revealed that Rs.1.2 billion has already been released for the prioritized projects Balochistan in third quarter, while an additional amount of Rs.3.4 billion is expected to be released within the next two to three weeks.
During the meeting, Balochistan officials highlighted a specific case (PSDP-254) of Gwadar Development Authority Business Plan, which was approved by ECNEC in 2010 with an estimated cost of Rs.25 billion, against which the amount of Rs.12 billion was released and the project is delayed due to non-provision of necessary funds. The Chairperson Committee directed relevant authorities to present a detailed plan, expenditure details and remaining funds in the next meeting of said project. Additionally, the Committee called for the release of funds for all remaining PSDP projects of Balochistan and requested to present the copies of the NEC’s decisions for reference on sharing of financial burden of projects between the Federal Government and the Provinces.
Committee members also expressed serious concerns regarding the substandard quality of dam construction in Balochistan. To counter such concerns, the Chairperson proposed to form a Fact-Finding Committee to assess the quality of federally funded projects, ensuring that the government’s financial contributions result in sustainable and durable infrastructure. The Chairperson emphasized over the need that if the federal government is funding any of the projects than it the responsibility of federal government to look after the quality of the work. Secretary Planning apprised that the Monitoring Wing within the Ministry will scrutinize the quality of these projects.
While briefing Chairman, (NHA) updated the committee about the development progress of Sukkur-Hyderabad (M-6) and Karachi-Hyderabad (M-9) Motorway projects told that the government is currently undertaking extensive road infrastructure projects spanning 306 kilometers (KM). The Sukkur-Hyderabad (M-6) contract is top priority project which has been divided into 5 sections as per the feasibility report from the international consultants. He further informed the Committee that two sections of M-6 project will be initiated on PPP mode whereas the Government is also looking to secure investments on the remaining 3 sections as these sections require substantial funds for execution and completion. The Chairperson Committee recommended to follow-up on these matters in the third week of April to assess further progress.
The NHA committed to also submit a detailed report in the next meeting regarding the concerns shown by the committee over the delay in development of Hyderabad- Karachi Motorway (M-9).
The Committee also discussed the issue of road fencing theft, particularly along motorways. The NHA Chairman acknowledged the theft problem and stated that most of the stolen fences have been reinstalled. He further informed that complaints have been lodged against the culprits and the matter is currently under trail. A significant decrease in theft crimes noticed after the action taken by the Motorway Police in the region of Dera Ismail Khan.
The Committee members also expressed serious concerns over continuous construction activities on M-5 for the past decade, stating that the road has never been free from ongoing work. Similar concerns were raised regarding the Hala-Matiari section, where construction is always in progress. The NHA officials assured the Committee that detailed reports on these projects will be presented in the next meeting.