ISLAMABAD – A team of Chinese technical and financial experts would visit Pakistan, during late February, to finalise the financial plan of the Railway Main Line-1(ML-1) project planned under the CPEC umbrella.
Following the Chinese team’s visit, the bidding process of the ML-I project will be initiated and work on the project will be started immediately after the bidding process, said the secretary Railways while briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Railways.
The Standing Committee on Railways, which met under the chairmanship of Rai Hassan Nawaz Khan, inquired about the current status of the Main Line (ML-1) project. The secretary, Ministry of Railways replied that a delegation of Chinese experts would visit Pakistan in late February and the financial plan of the project would be finalised. The Committee recommended to start work on ML-1 as early as possible as it was a game changer project and also recommended to repair the other tracks too.
The special invitee of the meeting apprised the committee about the encroachment of Pakistan Railways land measuring 416 kanals at Chanab West Bank Station Yard of Mouza Sonaki, District Muzaffargarh by District Government Muzaffargarh in 1991 by establishing the unauthorized park which was now being auctioned by the district government. The ministry replied that a writ petition had been filed in the High Court against illegal auction and also for transfer of land in the name of Railways which was under trial in the court. The committee recommended the Secretary, Ministry of Railways to approach the district government to resolve the issue otherwise the concerned Commissioner and Deputy Commission will be called in the next meeting.
Afterwards, the committee asked the ministry about Rs12.49 billion corruption case in Railways as per audit paras of financial year 2021-22. The committee replied that the loss of Rs12.49 billion was not based on facts as most of the paras showed potential loss due to non-leasing which could not be termed as loss on account of corruption. The committee recommended the Director General (Property & Land) to brief the committee about details of all 46 audit paras regarding that issue in the next meeting.
Later on, the committee asked about the security arrangements in Railway Stations and also about the recruitment process of constables in the Pakistan Railways Police. The committee recommended the ministry to appoint constables and other staff on merit by following quota of federal government and also to install/repair security cameras, walk-through gates, and luggage checking gates on priority basis. Lastly, the committee emphasized the presence of the minister concerned in the meeting as he had not attended any meeting of the committee.
The meeting was attended by Ramesh Lal, Waseem Qadir, Ibrar Ahmad, Haji Jamal Shah Kakar, Syed Shah Ahad Ali Shah, Shafqat Abbas, Sadiq Ali Memon, Rafiq Ahmed Jamali, Syed Waseem Hussain, Ahmed Saleem Siddiqui, Muhammad Ilyas Chaudhary, Fazal Muhammad Khan and Muhammad Jamal Ahsan Khan, MNAs. The senior officers from the Ministry of Railways and Pakistan Railways were also present at the meeting.
