Staff Reporter
Rawalpindi: The City District Government Rawalpindi (CDGR) has been found violating the rules and misusing the funds given by World Bank (WB) for construction of two main roads in constituency of Federal Interior Minster Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. According to details the CDGR floated a tender in national dailies on July 10, 2016 inviting the contractors to submit their bids to construct two roads – Chakra to Razzaq Town (length 1-km) and Razzaq Town to Pir Sahaba (length 1. 75-km) – at the cost of Rs 20.79 million but this amount is being spent on carpeting small streets in the area, the sources said.
The tender was won by Central Highway Works Department, but the funds are being spent on carpeting of the Street Number 2 and 4 in Razzaq Town and different localities of UC Girja of N.A 52 The misuse of WB loan has not only enraged the elected representatives but also the people of the area who requested Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif to take notice of the issue.
According to government rules, the funds allocated for any specific project could not be shifted to other development schemes, said a CDGR high-up while talking to the scribe on condition of anonymity. He said the WB had promised to give loan of $150 million to the Punjab government under WB’s Punjab City Governance Improvement Project in 2013 and now WB has started issuing the loan. He said a sum of $23.9 million was kept for Rawalpindi and half of it would be spent on improving the roads’ condition. The WB issued the load to CDGR in four installments and the last installment of $8.1 million was given in 2016, he informed.