Senate body recommends not to divert funds allocated for CPEC projects

ISLAMABAD, Mar 18 (APP):Senate Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Reforms on Monday recommended the Planning Commission not to divert any funds allocated for various projects of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) under Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2018-19.

Senator Usman Khan Kakar said the overall development had already been rationalized and revised downward, therefore the revised development budget should be fully protected.
He said if the government think it necessary to create some fiscal space for Sustainable Development Goals achievement programme, it should divert funds from other heads instead of CPEC project of national importance.
The meeting of the committee was presided over by Senator Agha Shahzaib Durrani.
The committee was informed that by end of second quarter of current fiscal year, the government had released 39 percent of total allocated funds, while by end of third quarter, it is expected that around 70 percent of total funds would be released.
Meanwhile, briefing the committee on Karachi’s mega water project K-IV, officials from the ministry informed the committee that due to faulty design, the project had been delayed and now it would take two and half years more to complete.
The meeting was further informed that according to the revised design, the capacity of main canal from Keenjhar lake is being enhanced to 650 million gallons per day to meet the long term demands of the city.
In the first phase the project would supply 260 million gallon per day while later the supply could be enhanced as per water demand of the city.
The committee recommended that detailed inquiry should be conducted as to why the project was delayed again and again and why there were so much design issues in the project.
It recommended that based on that inquiry, a final revision should be conducted of the project and complete it as soon as possible.