PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Tuesday issued a stay order stopping the communication and works department from issuing work order for construction and improvement of roads in Battagram district on the recommendation of the relevant nazim.

Hearing a petition of PML-N MPA from PK-59 Battagram Wali Mohammad Khan, Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Ikramullah Khan issued notices to respondents in the petition, including the district’s nazim, provincial chief secretary and secretaries of planning and development and communication and works, to explain position on the matter.

The petitioner has challenged the decision of the PTI-led provincial government to launch development schemes in the Annual Development Programme for his district on the recommendations of the district nazim instead of him.

Asks authorities to explain MPA’s petition about rules violation

Babar Shahzad Imran, lawyer for the petitioner, said the provincial government at the strength of its majority in the assembly passed the provincial budget for financial year 2016-17 in June 2016 in which the allocation of funds was made for various ministries, departments and projects.

He added that the chief minister had reserved for himself, his cabinet members, speaker of the assembly and other ruling party members billions of rupees as discretionary funds for distribution under the ADP.

The lawyer said the petitioner along with an MPA of PK-60 Battagram, Shah Hussain Khan, were able to get approved from their provincial budget development scheme of construction and improvement of on internal roads of Battagram in ADP 2015-16, whereby a cost of Rs250 million was reflected in the scheme but only Rs30 million was allocated.

He said against the rules of allocation of provincial budget in which MPAs had the mandate of identifying development sites, the members of district council and tehsil council under the chairmanship of Battagram district nazim through an application on Sept 14, 2015, identified feasible sites for development.

The lawyer added that in response to that application, the chief minister on Oct 5, 2015, through a letter addressed to the additional chief secretary, planning and development department, approved internal roads as per ADP scheme at the request of the nazim.

He said the C&W secretary through a letter on Nov 24, 2016, addressed to the chief engineer revised the administrative approval of the ADP placing the roads identified by the nazim were placed therein, which was the domain of the petitioner.

The lawyer said the secretary published an advertisement on Nov 24, 2016, inviting bids for tenders in a follow-up having Dec 13 as last date for submissions of bids on the same ADP and the same projects as identified by district nazim in violation of law and rules.

He requested the court to declare illegal the application of the councillors and district nazim, the Oct 5, 2015 notification of the chief minister, the revised administrative approval of ADP scheme and Nov 24, 2016 advertisement by the C&W secretary.

The lawyer requested the bench to restrain the communication and works department from issuing work order for execution of those controversial schemes saying Dec 13 was the day for opening tenders.

Published in Dawn December 14th, 2016