QUETTA:
The Senate Functional Committee on Less Developed Areas was told on Monday that a number of employees of the National Highway Authority (NHA) in Balochistan had sought transfer to the federal capital due to the law and order crisis in the province.
The committee met under the chairmanship of Senator Niaz Ahmed.
During the meeting, NHA officials revealed that employees posted in Balochistan had been increasingly requesting transfers to Islamabad. The Committee was informed that even employees domiciled in Balochistan were seeking transfers out of the province.
Senator Jan Muhammad suggested that all NHA employees should be barred from traveling by air, while Senator Kumar noted that even employees domiciled in Balochistan were reluctant to serve in their own province.
NHA officials informed the committee that employees serving in Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan receive an additional risk allowance equal to 25% of their basic pay.
The committee was also told that some employees domiciled in Balochistan were receiving the additional risk allowance even though they were not serving in the province, raising concerns among the members.
Briefing on the current fiscal year’s development budget, NHA officials informed the committee that 52% of the authority’s development allocation was earmarked for Balochistan, while 22% had been allocated to Sindh.
The officials said no new schemes were introduced in Balochistan during the current financial year as priority was given to projects nearing completion. They added that there were also no new projects in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, with the focus remaining on completing ongoing schemes.
Senator Kumar questioned whether the ongoing projects in KP would be completed during the current year under the existing allocation.
Planning Commission officials explained that the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) was prepared on the basis of projects rather than provincial allocations.
Senator Talha Mahmood noted that projects in more developed regions were completed faster than projects in less developed areas. The committee was also briefed about the NHA workforce and sanctioned posts.
NHA officials informed members that 2,750 employees were currently serving in the authority, which exceeded its sanctioned strength. They added that the authority was currently undergoing a restructuring process.
The committee requested a detailed report on the increase in project costs due to delays in implementation. Chairman Senator Niaz Ahmed noted that political factors were also a major cause of delays and cost escalations in development projects.
