“dollar making” orange line train will be burden on Punjab : Ch Pervaiz Elahi

Lahore: Pakistan Muslim League senior central leader and former Deputy Prime Minister Ch Pervaiz Elahi has said Rs 140 billion annual subsidy on jangla bus and “dollar making” orange line train will be burden on Punjab and as a result of wastage of this huge amount people will remain without medicines in hospitals and children of the poor without education because the govt is leasing out on contract instead of improving conditions in the hospitals and also seeking donations for 1122 like rescue service.

Responding to questions from journalists at his residence here, the former Chief Minister said that contract for construction of orange line has been awarded to such an inexperienced firm which has not undertaken such project previously and it deals in arms business.

In reply to a question about scrapping of underground train project of his govt, Ch Pervaiz Elahi said that we had awarded its contract to a firm which had completed Shanghai Metro Train and Euro Tunnel like projects, Punjab was neither in deficit nor had to pay any subsidy and also there was no investment of Punjab Govt but Shahbaz Sharif, fond of dollar making show off projects, did not like this.

He further said that unlike 3 per cent markup rate for his orange line project, mark up for our project was only 0.25 per cent with ten years grace period and owing to its public utility the Asian Development Bank had even released first installment of loan following approval of this Project No. 40573 which Shahbaz Sharif had declined and instead had first started jangla bus and then “dollar making” train projects whereas deficit on train will increase annually by Rs 16 billion and on jangla bus in Lahore and Rawalpindi Rs 12 billion each.

He said people are protesting all around everywhere but Shahbaz Sharif is bent upon eliminating beauty of this historic city and demolishing all old and kings all monuments.