RAWALPINDI: As the current fiscal year draws to a close, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has promised to dole out up to Rs40 million to the Rawalpindi and Chaklala cantonment boards, apart from the establishment of a 300-bed hospital, four schools and a waste management authority.

Rejecting the promises as a “bribe” to elected members for supporting the ruling party, the PPP and PTI opposition insisted that it took Mr Sharif a year to realise the problems of the cantonment’s civilian population, and said this was preparation for the next general elections.

Mr Sharif met PML-N MNA Malik Abrar from NA-54 at the Prime Minister Secretariat on Wednesday, and promised to release funds for the cantonment areas and approved various projects.

Mr Abrar told Dawn the projects approved by the prime minister would begin soon.

“A 300-bed hospital will be constructed on I.J. Principal Road, Rs20 million for the construction of a boundary wall of a 1000 kanal graveyard, a waste management authority for the cantonment areas, Rs20 million each for the Rawalpindi and Chaklala cantonment boards, four girls’ and boys’ high schools, a postgraduate college and filtration plants for civilian-populated areas are among the list of projects,” he said.

He said the government wanted to improve the average citizens’ standard of living through these projects.

“Unlike the opposition parties, the PML-N is delivering and it will bring the country on the path to development. In the past, the cantonment areas were neglected but the people voted for the PML-N in cantonment board elections, which was enough proof that they wanted to work under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif,” he said.

However, a senior RCB official said a grant for the board worth Rs10 million, which was approved by the federal government in March, had not been received and work on various schemes was yet to start due to the shortage of funds.

“We will likely get the funds in the next fiscal year, as the government usually does not release funds at the end of the current fiscal year. It may be a political statement,” he said.

He said the establishment of a waste management authority would not be possible in the cantonment areas since the Rawalpindi Waste Management Company demanded Rs5,500 per ton to lift solid waste, and RCB spends Rs1,600 per ton, which includes the cleanliness of drains and the streets.

“It would not be possible to establish an authority for cleanliness as it would increase the financial burden on the civic body, which has limited resources of income generation,” he said.

The PPP and PTI have declared the package a political move for public support after the Panama Papers leaks.

PPP city spokesperson Shujaat Haider Naqvi said instead of giving funds for development schemes, the federal government should include elected members in the decision-making process as the boards’ elected members were currently toothless.

He said residents of the cantonment were suffering from water shortages and paying extra taxes while the government was only announcing new projects which would not see the light of day.

Former general secretary of PTI Punjab north, Zahid Kazmi, said the prime minister approved the projects so the cantonment’s elected members would launch uplift schemes through their own contractors and make money from commissions.

“It is preparation for the general elections. A new development package is meant to get public support as PML-N wanted to improve its public image. Elected members of the cantonment have been working for the last year and the government failed to give them authority and funds,” he said.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2016