KOHAT, Nov 27: The tehsil municipal administration and the erstwhile provincial urban development board officials have failed to ensure completion of work on two Rs190.65 million sanitation projects in Kohat over the years despite hiring of staff and payment of salary to them.

The first project was about establishment of a waste treatment plant, while the other was meant to collect garbage and recycle it for urea production.

The waste treatment plant was established in 1992 by the PUDB at the cost of Rs120 million with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) funding but it could never become functional due to massive encroachments on drains and installation of at least 6,000 flush systems.

As for fertilizer plant project, no work could be seen on it though PUDB purchased 80 kanals of land on Bannu Road for it.

A senior official of the provincial local government department told Dawn that ADB was to blame for the fertilizer plant’s non-operations as it refused to sanction Rs25 million for it other than the Rs120 million total project funding.

He said all four ADB-funded projects valuing Rs4,000 million in Peshawar, Mardan and Haripur, too, had failed.

The official said action against the project overseers was awaited though many inquiries against them had been pending with the relevant departments for years, adding that they were regularly drawing pensions and other perks and privileges.

He said sewers of 6,000 houses were to be connected with the main sewer line for the functioning of the plant but until 1995, the needful could be done for 1,200 houses only.

According to him, an effort was made to lay a sewerage pipeline from KDA Township and connect it to the treatment plant in 1998 but KDA refused to bear its cost calculated at Rs3.5 million at that time.

He said funding shortage also led to the abandoning of the laying of secondary and tertiary lines in the city for smooth waste flow.

“More than 65 per cent work on the laying of pipelines and 80 per cent work on house connectivity has been pending for 20 years,” he said.

The official said 20km additional secondary and tertiary pipelines had yet not laid, adding that the lining of the 5km Jhang nullah failed to save the adjoining areas from seasonal floods.

He blamed the local government for it, saying it didn’t cooperate with the PUDB for removal of encroachments from the 12-metre area on either side of the nullah due to political reasons.

Meanwhile, the new fruit and vegetable market established at the cost of Rs70.65 million over 65 kanals of land by the tehsil municipal administration in March 2009 awaits occupation of shops by businessmen.

The businessmen are hesitant to occupy shops and stores in view of a case filed by the owner of a private market in local court against the opening of the market.

It is interesting to note that the commissioner inaugurated the market twice to lure businessmen.

All deadlines set by the administration to the businessmen to shift their businesses to the new place have so far fallen on deaf ears. Of late, the administration even ordered the arrest of the businessmen, who refused to shift to the new market under Section 188. However, it didn’t work.

The former commissioner once asked tehsil municipal officer Noor Daraz Khatak to deploy police on Hangu Road and Jana Textile Mills Road to stop people from visiting the private market. However, the private market owner challenged the move in the court, saying if grocery markets, bakeries, textile mills and other businesses could coexist, then why not fruit and vegetable market.

The businessmen have also complained of security problem and absence of road and bridge.