ISLAMABAD – The House and Library Committees of the National Assembly and Senate on Tuesday approved the Parliament Lodges extension project despite resistance from the members of committees belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
A joint meeting of both committees was held at the Parliament House to consider the controversial plan, which was chaired by National Assembly Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi and Senate Deputy Chairman Jann Muhammad Jamali.
Facing resistance from Leader of the Opposition in NA, Nisar Ali Khan last month after inaugurating ground breaking ceremony of Rs 3 billion parliament lodges extension project, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had referred the Parliament Lodges Phase-II’s construction project to the House and Library committee of NA, saying that the government would accept its decision.
The CDA authorities said the project would take two and a half years to complete and it would be done in three phases at the cost of over Rs 2.72 billion. According to the CDA authorities, 500 servant quarters were to be constructed on 1.4 acres of land while lodges for parliamentarians would be constructed on the rest of the land.
The meeting was informed that Rs 419 million had been allocated in the current fiscal year, of which Rs 84 million had been disbursed to constructors.
