PESHAWAR: Private Contractors in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have blamed the provincial government for slow pace of work on ongoing development schemes due to unavailability of funds, and warned that they would move to court, if funds are not released.
Speaking at a news conference on Monday, All Pakistan Contractors Association (APCA) District Peshawar President, Haji Malik Mehar Zaman said that the work on all development projects has been halted in KP, because of non-releases of the funds by the authorities concerned.
He said that no single penny was released for ongoing uplift projects in Swabi, Swat, Malakand division, Chitral, Hangu, Bannu, DI Khan, and others areas of the province. He said that department concerned had even failed to ensure release of amount of surety bond and pre-bidding call deposits amount, to continue work on the development projects.
Mehar Zaman accused the provincial government for bringing the contractors on verge of the collapse by imposition of unilateral decisions and policies. He added that contracts of various developmental projects have been awarded to National Logistic Cell in the province, which was completely unjust with contractors’ community.
Flanked by the association office bearers, Sirajul Haq, Saadullah, Barki, and Khalid Zaman, he said that contractors’ community had spent personnel money to ensure timely completion of the development schemes, but number of projects being delayed due to paucity of funds. Mehar Zaman said contractors had approached to officials of C&W, irrigation, local government, Public Health Engineering, and Peshawar Development Authority, to express their reservations for non-issuance of funds, but the funds were yet not released.