Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The standing committee of national assembly on housing and works has approved Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) of the Ministry of Housing and Works for financial year 2017-18 amounting to Rs 12,343.118 million, which would be spent on 149 schemes and executed through Public Works Department (PWD).

The meeting of the committee was held with Haji Muhammad Akram Ansari in the chair to discuss budgetary proposals relating to the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) of Housing and Works Ministry for the financial year 2017-18.

The ministry proposed cost of 179 projects amounting to Rs 17199 million, however, it directed for exclusion of 46 projects amounting to Rs 4854.88. The committee was of the view that 46 excluded project were unnecessary and should be taken up after necessary need assessment and completion of the ongoing projects.

The committee while going through the PSDP proposals, observed that delay in execution of work on the schemes resulted in PC-I revision, cost escalation and over-burdening the national exchequer. The committee, therefore, directed the Ministries of Planning and Finance to ensure timely release of budgetary allocations so that the work on projects could be initiated or completed, thus avoiding wastage of public money. The committee further directed the Housing and Works Ministry to submit report of inclusion or non-inclusion of the PSDP budgetary proposals in the federal budget within thirty days of the Committee’s recommendation required under rule 7 of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007.

The meeting was attended by MNAs Rajab Ali Khan Baloch, Rana Zahid Hussain Khan,  Ghulam Muhammad Lali, Tahira Aurangzeb, Khalida Mansoor, Nighat Parveen Mir, Faqir Sher Muhammad Bilalani, Sajid Nawaz Khan, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Iqbal Muhammad Ali Khan, Molana Ameer Zaman, housing ministry secretary, pwd director general and other senior officers of the concerned departments.