PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa took another U-turn on the completion of Peshawar’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, saying the project will be completed by the end of the year.
The provincial information minister admitted its mistake for making another delay in the functionalisation of the BRT project.
Earlier, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan had directed on May 12 to work day and night for completion of the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.
On Monday, a government lawyer told the Supreme Court that there was no design of the project.
Justice Faez Isa however asked as to how it was possible that there was no design for a project of the Asian Development Bank.
The court observed that Durrani had failed to present any evidence to show that he was being forced to engage in corrupt practices.
In Feb 2019, KP opposition leaders blamed the previous provincial government led by Pervaiz Khattak of taking a commission of Rs1.5 billion in Bus Rapid Transit project, alleging the money was used in the general election to change the loyalties of other politicians.
The project has been criticised for its lack of progress and efficiency time and again.
In an April 2018 report, the Provincial Inspection Team (PIT) said: “Havoc has been played with the public money through faulty planning & designing, negligence in execution of work, and poor management of the project.”
The report compiled by on the orders of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister also points to the “shadiness of the affairs at play in the project” causing loss to the public exchequer as “quantities of the items having exorbitant quoted rates have been increased while those having zero rates have been deleted”.
Construction work on the BRT had commenced in October 2017 and was slated to complete within six months, close to the general elections. The project, however, faced delays, prompting the PHC to order NAB in July last year to look into what it called a “shady and shaky” project.