Shahbaz Sharif's SRU's project to build modern cemeteries fails

LAHORE: The project of modern style cemeteries under Punjab Sheher-e-Khamoshan Authority (PSKA), which was started under the tenure of former Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, failed miserably, Pakistan Today learnt.

According to details, a Strategic Reforms Unit (SRU) was established during the tenure (2013-18) of former Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, headed by a technocrat Salman Sufi.

The SRO had proposed to set up an authority for construction and operation of modern style cemeteries in Punjab, in recognition of which the then Punjab government had established the Punjab Sheher-e-Khamoshan Authority (PSKA).

The head of the SRU at the time claimed that he had played a major role in drafting the Authority Act.

Speaking about the objectives of PSKA an official of Local Government and Community Development Punjab (LG&CD) informed that the government wanted to build cemeteries of international standard in view of the growing population of Punjab, especially Lahore.

The official added that a project for construction of cemeteries was started under the authority.

“The modern style cemetery built in Lahore is located near Kahna (an area of Lahore). The Punjab government provided more than 140 million rupees for the construction of this cemetery and an area of 89 kanals was allocated for the cemetery and it was estimated that 8500 graves would be built in five years,” he added.

The official went on to say that since these estimates and planning were of Sufi's but so far only 920 graves have been settled there because no formal campaign was launched to publicize the cemetery nor was there any mechanism in place for the authority to function successfully.

“Even now, if the people of Lahore are asked about this cemetery, they do not know anything about it,” he said.

The project was later evaluated by the Planning and Development Department, which revealed that not only poor materials were used in the construction of the cemetery, but also its estimates from an economic point of view were incorrect.

According to the report available with this scribe, “The overall structures are deteriorating rapidly. Different quality related issues such as seepage, cracks, cave in, low quality cementing and poor electric wiring were found.

According to Smart Monitoring of Development Projects (SMDP) financial utilization till Jun 2020 is 155.42M which is significantly hire than the amount presented in PC-IV. Department should justify the discrepancies, report states.

The report further revealed the missing earth works in the grave plots whereas the boundary wall was broken and horticulture component was not complete.

"Sewerage system has not been properly installed. The reserved cost for horticulture component was 16.9% (25.129M) out of which 22.35M expenses were stated in PC-IV. Furthermore, department has not shared data regarding number and type of trees planted".

"Therefore, department should justify the total cost reserved and utilized for horticulture. The department has filled 10 positions of the project from total 18 positions. However, financial utilization is 100% in this head. The department may justify the utilization," the report revealed.

However, regarding the economic perspective of project the report stated, “The average fee collection for each burial is approximately Rs.6000. Collecting very low fee will further add burden to public exchequer to run this project and it will further deteriorate the economic condition of the province. In the current economic conditions, subsidizing such projects is not feasible".

"The estimated number of deaths in Lahore in 2018 and 2019 was 84,000 and 81,000. However, so far, in about 5 years since project completion, 990 burials are performed, which is 16 in a month. utility of the facility may be improved,” report said.

The LG&CD official informed Pakistan Today that the main reason for the failure of this project was SRU.

"Since Sufi, the head of SRU was blue eyed of former chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, so he was not questioned for anything and none of his projects had anything to do with operation. He was also the Director General of PSKA and Punjab Women Development Authority at same time. On the recommendations of the Sufi, the Punjab government wasted millions of rupees and nothing was achieved,” he said.

On the other hand, a reliable official of the Chief Minister's Secretariat informed that Sufi was receiving a salary of Rs 1.2 million per month while the salaries of other staff of his unit were also unusually high.

"The Sufi's salary was taxed at Rs 303,500 and he received a salary of RS 896,500. Similarly, Hafsa Rehman, an SRU officer, had a salary of Rs 300,000 per month. Hafsa Rehman used to deduct Rs 45,182 from this salary and she received this salary for more than three years. SRU Analytical Assistant Rada Shehzad's salary was Rs 200,000 out of which Rs 21,959 was tax deductible. Interestingly, Fatima Khan, a junior associate of SRU, had a salary of Rs 125,000. Similarly, Maryam Noor, Resident Associate of SRU, received a monthly salary of Rs 80,000 without any tax deduction,” he said.

The official added that at that time even the salaries of top government officials were not so high and these salaries could not be accounted till today.

“None of the projects started by Salman Sufi have been successful and now as soon as Shahbaz Sharif is back in government and in Punjab too, there are rumors of PML-N government, Sufi is somehow making his way to be relocated to an attractive seat in Punjab,” he concluded.

At one point, when this scribe spoke to the Sufi about the issue of huge salaries, he said that he and his team worked harder than government officials and deserved higher salaries.