Former councillors seek release of pending uplift funds

SHANGLA: Former members of Shangla village councils have demanded of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to release their pending funds of 2018-19 annual development programme to help them complete the delayed projects.

Talking to reporters here on Saturday, they said work order of the projects had been approved, but the contractors were reluctant to start executing the schemes because of non-payment of funds.

“Six months have passed since the 2018-19 ADP schemes were tendered, but the contractors have yet to begin work for want of funds,” Guldad Khan, a former village council nazim, said.

Shahid Anwar Khan, former Butyal-III village nazim, said first the funds were delayed owing to transfer of assistant director local government, and now the contractor was reluctant to launch work on the projects.

He said the contractor should begin work on the schemes, for which half of funds had been released.

When contacted, deputy commissioner Imran Hussain Ranjha told Dawn that some projects were in progress and some would be tendered soon. He, however, said he would check if some schemes were being delayed despite approval of funds.