The federal government allocated Rs 866 billion for 1,018 development schemes of different ministries during the ongoing financial year under Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). This was stated by the officials of Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform in a special briefing to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which met here on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah.
The Ministry of Planning's presentation to the PAC regarding ongoing development work stated that in addition to the development schemes, there are 1,022 special projects being under taken by the federal government and among them 582 projects are in progress and 420 projects have been initiated recently. The officials of Planning Commission said that the total cost of projects is Rs 1,318 billion. However, the chairman PAC remarked that these projects may cost trillions to the national exchequer, saying the government initiates new development projects without paying attention to the pending ones.
He criticized the slow progress on Karachi Green Line Project - a rapid transit line of the Karachi Metro Bus - as the Planning Commission disclosed that only 60 percent work has been completed so far. The project was started in February last year. The officials said that the project aimed at resolving the transportation problems of hundreds of thousands of people of Karachi was planned decades ago, but unfortunately no government implemented it in the past. The present government has started the project and it will be completed by the start of the next year.
The PAC expressed dissatisfaction over the presentation and directed the secretary planning to brief the committee in detail about the entire development schemes in its next meeting scheduled to be held in first week of October. PAC member from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Dr Arif Alvi wrote a letter to the chairman PAC to conduct probe on imposition of penalty on Habib Bank's New York branch in the United Sates.
The HBL last month announced its decision to wind up operations in New York following intimation from the US financial regulator that it seeks to impose a hefty penalty of nearly $630 million on the bank. The bank, however, decided to contest in US courts the notice sent by New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) about the imposition of a civil monetary penalty amounting to $629.61 million. Alvi demanded the chairman PAC to constitute a committee to probe the issue. He suggested the investigation team to investigate the relevant officials of the State Bank of Pakistan as well.
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