Flood damaged roads, schools: KP PA panel calls for action against negligent officers

Standing Committee of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Communications & Works (C&W) Department has called for disciplinary action against the officials for showing negligence in construction works and taking of immediate steps for completion, necessary repair and improvement in roads and school construction schemes to utilise such schemes for the welfare of the general public.
These recommendations have been prepared by the standing committee over the questions of the Noor Saleem Malik of JUI-F regarding the reconstruction of different flood affected roads and schools in District Lakki Marwat.
The meeting of the committee held on January 22, 2015 and attended by MPAs Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao, Mohammad Shiraz Khan, Fazal Shakoor and Jamshid Khan reviewed the matter in detailed and then constituted a sub-committee comprising of its chairman, MPA Iftikhar Ali Mashwani and MPA Mohammad Shiraz Khan to check the quality of construction work on the pinpointed roads and schools in Lakki Marwat.
The second meeting of the committee was held on February 11, 2016, which was also attended by the mover, Noor Saleem Malik. The meeting was held at the hujra of the mover. During the action, the sub-committee checked the record concerned and later the repair work as well.
In his arguments before the sub-committee, the mover MPA Noor Saleem Malik expressed dissatisfaction over the incomplete reply of the department. He said that expenses shown against each scheme was nominal. He said that three-kilometre Omar Adda Indus Highway to Tamsha Mansoora Road and 0.50 KM Tamsha Mansoora-Zira Mulakhel Road and Titarkhel-Barkhi Karoona Road were damaged in the flood of 2010 and a sub-engineer on regular basis used to visit the site to take the measurement and prepare PC-I of the road.
The PC-I, he said was included of shangle, roar and charcoal along with cause way and retaining wall with the estimated cost of Rs 6.415 million. But, the department instead of constructing Cal wart allow the contractor on their own to construct two cause ways, which was technically in correct for traffic while the black topping of the road was left incomplete.
He said that though the approval of PC-I could be given by only competent authority, but the officials of the department changed the PC-I on their own, which was unnecessary. However, when he submitted the question with assembly secretariat, the officials of the department constructed Titarkhel to Barkhi road with charcoal. But, in case of the reconstructing flood affected roads, the department used highly substandard material while the cause ways and calwarts constructed on all these roads were also incorrect.
On this occasion, Executive Engineer (EXN) C&W Department, Hayatullah Jan told the committee that devastated floods and rains have inflicted severe damages to different roads, bridges and causeways in district Lakki Marwat and the department prepared rehabilitation plan for the affected roads on emergency basis and after the approval of funds they were auctioned to contractors. He said that the changes in the PC-I were introduced after approval from the competent authority while the construction of two causeways and walls on both sides of Masha-Mansoora Road were needs of the project. He said that due to the shortage of funds they carried only structure work, which was necessary for traffic. He also defended other the quality of other schemes in the district.
But, during the visit to sites, the committee declared work on concerned roads and adjacent retaining wall, causeway, cal wart and schools highly substandard and the utilisation of such huge amount on them was limited to only file work. Similarly, the material used in the schemes was also found highly dissatisfactory and poor while several schemes of them were found incomplete.
During the inspection, the sub-committee also visited Government Girls' Middle School Matoora and noted that highly substandard material is used in the construction of school while the playground of the school was not levelled and was felling with simple hand touch as the use of cement was nominal, Similarly, the doors of bathrooms were also in poor conditions and the Education Department have taken its possession with closed eyes. The school was not suitable for education for which they termed the officials of the concerned department directly responsible.