Caretakers stopped funds for Orange Train

Lahore : Caretaker Minister for Finance and Excise & Taxation Zia Haider Rizvi shown his enmity with the largest public transport programme “The Orange Train” by stopping funds to this project .

A certain quarter of opposition do not want to see Orange Train running on the track before general elections that’s why they took stay order from the court and managed to suspend the development work on this project for 22 months .

And now again they conspired to hold the project again by stopping funds.

According to the official statement , the caretaker minister Zia Haider has stopped the Secretary Finance to issue further funds for Orange Line Metro Train, Saaf Pani, Daanish schools or any other development schemes till the general elections.

He issued these instructions during a meeting at Chief Minister’s Office, here today. He said that under the instructions of Election Commission, the release of funds by the Finance Department will be limited to the provision of missing facilities and other welfare programmes for public schools for their completion where polling stations will be set up for the upcoming elections. Due to the paucity of funds, the distribution of honoraria announced by the outgoing government at the end of their tenure will also be stopped.

The Minister directed the Chairman PRA to make way for the dialogue instead of any collision with the business community so that the matters could be amicably solved. The Trade and Industry Department will also assist in this regard.

The Minister appealed to the business community to side with the government in this difficult time and help in holding of free and fair elections.