Lahore: Walled City development stalled for 37 months

[Naveed Yaseen]

* Funds allocated for project still unused
* Only planning, surveys, design work completed so far
* SDWCP DG claims project will be completed in six months

By Anwer Hussain Sumra

LAHORE: Despite being 37 months old, the Sustainable Development of Walled City Project (SDWCP) has failed to spend a single rupee out of the Rs 834 million allocated for it to improve infrastructure development and renovation of identified buildings in the city.

The project began in September 2006, with help from a loan from the World Bank (WB), and was scheduled to complete its objectives by September 2010. Sources claim the only work done on the project was planning, surveys and design work on paper. The WB had given $6 million, with the Punjab government contributing Rs 478 million.

The sources said the provincial government had set up a Project Management Unit (PMU) to execute the project, which had so far spent Rs 103 million, including Rs 4 million in loaned money, to meet the its expenditures in the 37 months since its inception. They said all the money spent so far had been used for “paper work” and nothing practical had been done.

The Punjab government had established a PMU under the Planning and Development (P&D) Department in September 2006 to accommodate a retired (then serving) senior District Management Group officer who was given a heavy project allowance of Rs 150,000 along with other perks and privileges.

The project was given the responsibility of improving urban infrastructure services including roads, pavement of streets, beautification of parks, underground electric power supply and water and sewerage facilities in the Walled City of Lahore.

The PMU had been tasked to restore/conserve and display the tangible and non-tangible cultural heritage of the Walled City, and restore monuments to their original glory wherever possible.

The sources said the government had made legislation for the development of historic cities based on the project, adding Punjab had hired the services of 60 people, including engineers, to work on completing the task.

They said the PMU was headed by a project director who was assisted by three other directors, adding that the project director had been offered Rs 150,000 per month as project allowance, with the three other directors being offered Rs 100,000 per month each.

The PMU, in collaboration with private experts, has thus far only conducted five surveys, namely Topographical, Plot and Buildings, Geological Information System and Household Socio Economic, Economic Activity and Water Quality Lahore Urban Park.

The PMU had agreed with the Aga Khan Trust, seeking financial and technical assistance in renovating and preserving identified buildings in the Walled City. The sources said the trust had started working on selective sites. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government intends to complete the project in its allotted time.

The sources said the “performance of a department, official and government office was measured from the utilisation of the earmarked development budget”, adding that if no funds were utilized then the project was worthless and the “officer concerned was inefficient/incompetent to perform his obligations”.

SDWCP Director General Orya Maqbool Jan Abbasi said the project had been dealt “in bureaucratic style before”. He said the maps developed for provision of urban infrastructure were “faulty”, adding that international consultants had declared them non-implemental.

He said five comprehensive surveys had been conducted since he was appointed as the head of the project, adding that international consultants had been hired to commence the works. Abbasi said the WB had been told that “if it withdraws its funds, there were a number of donor agencies in hand willing to back the project”. He said the project was “ill-designed in its inception”, adding that “the project had now been properly designed with professionals being hired to execute it”.

Complete soon: He said a team of expert engineers had been established, adding that it would take six months to complete the project.

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