Fresh appointments and sacked employees: NHA directed to submit report

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Communication directed National Highway Authority (NHA) to submit report pertaining to the fresh appointments as well as the revival of sacked employees in the department during the next meeting of the committee.
Meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee held here on Thursday with Saeed Ahmed Zafar in the chair in which the committee directed the Chairman NHA to provide the details of all the fresh appointments in NHA and revival of the sacked employees along with submission of the details of the contract employees. Chairman of the committee asked the status of these employees and the criteria followed during their recruitment.
Standing committee constituted two sub-committees comprising four members each on two different issues and directed them to give their reports within two weeks. Standing committee also discussed the construction work on Kot Abdul Malik interchange. Anwer Ahmed Gardezi Secretary NHA told the committee that the project was started without accusation of land. He said that WAPDA is not giving accusation of piece of five kanal for some mysterious reasons, adding that had the required land been given the project would have been completed.
Chairman NHA Muhammad Ali Gardezi told the committee that NHA is ready to pay the due price of the land, ie, 0.15 million, however, the WAPDA is not agreed to give its accusation against the price in a bid to charge extra amount for the land. The Chairman NHA also suggested the standing committee to modify the plan of the project on which, the standing committee constituted a sub-committee under the chairmanship of Afzal Sindh to take up the issue and give its report about the issue. Chairman Standing Committee also directed the sub-committee to check the competency of the Chairman NHA in the matter.
Chairman NHA told the committee that budget was not allocated for Khiali flyover project at GT road Gujranwala, saying that the project was started with the road maintenance funds, which were insufficient for the project. He said that so far NHA has spent more than Rs 590 million over the project, while PSDP would soon release Rs 498 million for the said project.
He directed the NHA not to abandon the project, as it links a big city with the rest of the country and would be useful in smooth flow of traffic. Chairman NHA Gardezi informed the committee that department has Rs 27 billion deficit. Chairman standing committee Saeed Ahmed Zafar also constituted another committee to finalise the "Carriage of Goods by road mail 2011" and directed it to give its report within two weeks.