PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government on Tuesday removed Transport Secretary Rehman Khan from his post.
According to an official notification, Dr Muhammad Fakhar-e-Alam Irfan, a senior member of the Board of Revenue, has been handed over additional charge as the new transport secretary of KP.
Khan’s dismissal came after criticism on Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project increased. The project was scheduled to be completed in six months but still is incomplete after almost one-and-half year.
The frequent technical and procedural changes to Peshawar’s bus rapid transit (BRT) project caused another delay in the project beyond its March 23 deadline.
The project which was earlier set for launch for May 2018, was delayed by 11 months. Due to unanticipated hurdles, work on the project has been delayed at six locations. There has also been a price escalation from RS49 to RS69 billion.
According to the Peshawar Development Authority (PDA), the execution of the project by the proposed deadline is reliant on the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) and Pakistan Railways, for they had to lay a new transmission line on Sunehri Masjid road AND issue a no objection certificate (NOC) for the installation of girders to complete the track over Cantonment railway station.
Talking to a private media outlet, BRT officials said that work on the Sunehri Masjid BRT Track cannot continue until WAPDA shifts the existing power cables to another location.
They added that a payment was made to Pak Railways two months ago for land acquisition and a NOC request was lodged, however, no action has yet been taken.
On the other hand, Engineer Shah Nawaz, the Pakistan Railways focal person for BRT project, said that PDA has not submitted a girder launching plan and safety certificate to the authority.
