MULTAN: Various political parties have hit out at the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz for pursuing the metro bus project for the city at the cost of ‘real problems’ the people of South Punjab are facing.

The Punjab government had announced the mega project of metro bus for the city and earmarked Rs32 billion for its 32-kilometre long route. During his visit to the city in June last, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had announced that the project would be launched on Aug 14 and completed within one year.

Former PPP MPA Dr Javed Siddiqui said that during the last seven years of the PML-N government (in Punjab), only one project -- Bahawalpur Bypass Chowk to Chungi No 9 road construction – was undertaken for Multan. He said the government released only Rs250 million out of Rs1.5 billion earmarked for first year. He said Rs350 million had been spent on the project which had been dropped as its cost had been increased to Rs7 billion.

“Even 10pc of the project could not be completed even after several years whereas Lahore’s Azadi Chowk project has been completed in 165 days at a cost of Rs5.35 billion,” he said.

Similarly, he said, Old Shujaabad Road project had been pending for the last three years due to non-provision of funds. Also incomplete was the flyover at Chungi No 6 despite the fact that the PPP government had allocated funds. The fate of Rs100 million Cadet College project was no different, he said.

Dr Siddiqui further claimed that work on cancer hospital could not be started as the PML-N government did not release Rs700 million allocated by the PPP government. A sum of Rs1 billion had not been given for the beautification of the Walled City under Pak-Italian Debt Swap Agreement,” he added.

The PPP leader said that instead of making Multan-Faisalabad section of motorway functional, the government was going for Lahore-Karachi Motorway by allocating Rs55 billion for land acquisition.

He said Multan-Faisalabad motorway section was initiated with the financial assistance of the Islamic Development Bank and the government of Pakistan had to contribute only Rs10 billion out of Rs120 billion. The PPP government, he said, had released Rs8 billion but the project was kept pending by not sharing the remaining Rs2 billion by the present government despite the fact that more than 80pc work had been completed.

He said the government was contributing the subsidy of about Rs400 million a month as the Lahore Metro Bus project had failed.

He said that a few days ago the Central Development Working Party had approved the projects of Rs177 billion none of which was for south Punjab.

Pakistan Seraiki Party chief organiser Mansoor Karim Sial said “the people who are going to benefit out of the metro bus project are those who will build it or who will operate it.”

He said far more important than infrastructure and constructions was people’s right of autonomy and non-dependence on Punjab for realisation of development.

Jamaat-i-Islami district ameer Asim Mahmood Akhwani said the transport problem in the city was not that bad and a staggering amount would be spent on a project people could do without. “It will cause unemployment as rickshaws, wagons and tonga drivers will be deprived of space,” he said.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf District President Ejaz Janjua said the people of Multan suffered during the tenure of former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and now the PML-N government was misusing money. The city’s traffic problem could be tackled a great deal by repairing the already existing roads, he said and added that the remaining cost of the project should be spent on hospitals and industry to provide health facilities to people and create job opportunities.

JUI-F district general secretary Noor Khan Hans said the project would damage hundreds of houses, plazas and bridges.

Pakistan Awami Tehreek’s Iqbal Chughtai said the projects like metro bus should be launched only after the basic issues were addressed.

Defending the Punjab government initiative, PML-N’s Shaikh Athar Mumtaz said the project was being undertaken on the demand of people who had asked the chief minister to launch it on the pattern of Lahore and Rawalpindi. He said there would be difficulties during the course of construction but the people of Multan would eventually benefit from it.

He said the PML-N government was providing funds for other projects as well. “The projects of four new girls colleges, a women’s university, an engineering university, a kidney centre, an agriculture university and a sports complex have been initiated. Also, funds to the tune of Rs750 million for the expansion of Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi Institute of Cardiology have been approved,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2014