Says federal govt will offer sovereign guarantee for any provincial govt’s public welfare project
Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Senator Pervaiz Rashid on Friday informed the National Assembly that the Orange Train Line Project would not affect cultural heritage sites in Lahore.
Responding to a calling attention notice moved by Imran Zafar Lehgari, Nafisa Shah and Mir Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani, he said, “The Orange Train Line Project, initiated by the Punjab government from its own resources, will not cause any physical damage to Shalamar Gardens or to Chauburji; it will not affect the prestige of heritage sites at all.”
The minister said there would not be any vibration at these cultural heritage sites due to the engineering plans and technology used in the project.
Pervaiz Rashid said heavy and light traffic had been plying the road, passing by the cultural sites without having any negative impact for the last many years.
He said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had rehabilitated and restored the Minaret of Chauburji when he was Chief Minister of Punjab, adding that restoring 12 historical doors in their original shape was an achievement of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government.
“Nawaz Sharif’s government has always fulfilled its responsibility regarding the protection of national heritage sites” he added.
Rashid said that the Orange Train Line Project had been started for the poor people who used public transport for going to schools, hospital and offices.
He urged the opposition parties to play their role and extend assistance for providing the best and inexpensive public transport to masses instead of creating hurdles in the public welfare projects.
He said it was unfortunate that no political party came up to protect the passengers when roofs of public transport vehicles touched the dangling electricity wires above.
Criticising the opponents of the Orange Line Project, he said that only those people were making a hue and crying over the provision of decent public transport scheme who had not bothered to visit Chauburji.
The minister said that many people were unable to attend funerals and marriages of their loved ones, during the protest of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), while the elements who chanted the slogans of ‘unacceptable’ themselves traveled in private planes to reach Quetta and Karachi.
Responding to a question, the minister said the Orange Line Train was not part of China Pakistan Economic Corridor. He said the Punjab government had started the project to facilitate poor segments of the society who did not have luxury transport to use.
The minister said that financial details of the project could be obtained from the officials of the Punjab government and the committee could ask them for these particulars.
Rashid also suggested to the opposition parties to raise questions regarding the financial details of the project in the Punjab Assembly through their representatives.
He said that complete fairness and transparency had been adopted by the Punjab government in the project, adding the project would be another feather in the cap of the provincial government as well as the entire province.
The minister gave assurance on the floor of the House that the federal government would provide sovereign guarantee to any welfare project of the provincial governments aimed at helping the common people.
“We will never cause delay to any welfare project forwarded by the provincial governments and would promptly issue a federal sovereign guarantee,” he said.
He said that sovereign guarantee had been granted by the federal government to Sindh government for the Thar Coal project.
Commenting on the performance of the PML-N government, Pervaiz Rashid said: “We have done in two and a half years what the PPP government failed to do in five.”
Almost a century ago, the British were planning Railways in India. When it came to NWFP, they faced a obstacle. It was the Mazaar of a local saint. And the British knew the locals would not allow. As the nature of the British goes, they contacted Faqir of IPI, a political/social figure, revered by the locals. The Faqir was promised big rewards by the Britiash Raj. The Faqir agreed. The next day the Faqir went to the locals and told, the Pir appeared in his dream and asked me to remove his Mazaar to another place because this place has become 'na paak'. The locals believed and agreed to remove the Mazar. The British were happy, Faqir of IPPI was happy and locals too. Mr Parvez Rashid reminded that century old story.
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