Remodelling of Nullah Lai: Absence of commissioner from meeting irks Senate panel

A Senate panel on Thursday expressed anger over the absence of chief commissioner Rawalpindi from the meeting who was scheduled to brief the senators regarding a project about remodelling of Nullah Lai, which was initiated in 2008.
The Senate Functional Committee on Government Assurances, which met in the chair of Senator Agha Shahbaz Khan Durrani expressed annoyance over the absence of chief commissioner Rawalpindi from the meeting and decided to write a displeasure note to the chief secretary Punjab and chairman Senate in this regard. Deputy Commissioner Talat Mehmood Gondal informed the committee meeting that Nullah Lai remodelling project had been dropped by the Government of Punjab during 2010 for shortage of funds, adding currently Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) is working on the PC-1 in this regard, which will be finalised soon.
Senator Chaudhary Tanveer Khan, who moved the calling attention notice on dumping of garbage in Nullah Lai, said that the concerned officials should inform the committee as to why the project had been dropped. "If the project was not feasible then what action has been taken against the concerned officials who had approved or prepared PC-1 for the project," he questioned.
He said that Nullah Lai is a serious threat to lives and properties of people of Rawalpindi, adding that appropriate measures need to be taken to avoid any loss in future. The committee directed Rawalpindi administration to inform the committee about the reasons due to which the project was dropped as well as PC-1 on remodelling of Nullah Lai, for which the RDA is currently working.
The committee also held discussion with respect to introduction and passage of constitutional amendment for employment quota. Senator Khanzada Khan, Sardar Muhammad Azam Khan Musakhel and the senior officials of Capital Development Authority (CDA), district administration Rawalpindi and Ministry of Law and Justice attended the meeting.