'Billions of rupees wasted on useless projects': pre-budget seminar informed

Chairman Planning Commission Dr Nadeemul Haque has told the government that it is 50 percent oversized and that it must cut down its non-development expenditure for long term sustainable growth of the economy.
Addressing a pre-budget seminar organised by daily Pakistan Today here on Sunday Dr Haque said that Planning Commission has prepared a "Growth Strategy" that would be presented to the Federal Cabinet before budget for reorientation of our economic development.
Dr Haque, who is giving a paradigm shift to the economic planning and development, said that billions of rupees have been wasted in the name of development on useless projects. "About Rs 4 000 billions have been stuck up in such unplanned and unresearched projects", he added.
He said billions of rupees of the public sector development programme (PSDP) have been spent on unnecessary projects such as bypasses, flyovers etc without evaluating the accruing benefits of such projects in the past.
Chairman Planning Commission said that 6,000MW electricity is being wasted by pilferages, inefficiency and mismanagement by the distribution companies. "Iesco' being headed by a grade 20 government officer whereas management of such organisations of national important should have been given to the highly professional teams', he added. "The old outdated grade system must go and be replaced by research oriented and visionary executives.
Dr Haque also suggested that the government should stop doing business. Why it should buy sugar, wheat, rice and spend billions of rupees of commodities, which private sector can handle more efficiently.