ISLAMABAD  --  Chairman National Highway Authority Sheheryar Sultan has intervened in a prevailing tug-of-war between finance and engineering wings of the roads authority over procurements of maintenance works.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Finance Wing of NHA has stopped awarding new maintenance works across the country to bring financial management in future, which got a cold response from the senior officers of the engineering cadre.  

The roads authority being custodian of about fourteen thousand kilometers long network of motorways and highways carries maintenance through its own resources under annual maintenance plans while new projects are mostly funded by the federal government through Public Sector Development Program (PSDP).   

Earlier, there was a bulk allocation against annual receipts for maintenance works, which were being executed by the concerned members in the regions and there was a very brief role of member finance in the process of awarding contracts.

However, the finance wing had written two letters in November barring concerned formations from awarding new maintenance projects citing financial constraints and mismanagement of funds as the main reason.   

In his first letter, incumbent Member Finance Syed Mazhar Hussain Shah instructed to stop awarding new contracts and variations in the existing contracts with immediate effect until further orders while he also directed to submit a procurement plan of the current year for review and prioritization of road maintenance activities.

The Member Finance also indicated in his letter that the available resources are insufficient to fulfil the already awarded works due to multiple factors including frequent contract variations, price escalations and revenue receivables.

The said letter was not taken in its letter and spirit by the engineering cadre as they remained stuck to their already initiated procurements but later, the General Manager Finance on the instructions of the highups wrote another letter explaining that all types and stages of procurement must be stopped till a final decision.

He further warned that a disciplinary action would be taken against those officers who will violate the directions of the finance wing.

In background discussions, the regional members stated that these letters of the finance wing are irrational and unjustified as once funds are allocated, it is the domain of the engineering side to execute the projects as per the requirements.

They argued that the annual maintenance plan is approved by the Executive Board of NHA after due deliberation and there is no need for fresh funds allocations on each individual file as the plan is based on the projected revenue shared by the finance wing.  

When contacted, Member Finance Syed Mazhar Hussain Shah said the fresh procurement processes are stopped just to bring financial management by balancing the inflows and outflows of NHA.

He said like the rest of the government departments, a proper mechanism should be adopted for the allocation of funds and schemes must be prioritized.   

Reliable sources informed that there is a tug-of-war between member finance and senior officers of the engineering cadre over spending under the head of maintenance, which is in billions annually.

The former member finance while analyzing the situation said that once annual maintenance plan is approved, the finance wing is restricted up to the disbursement of funds alone but the incumbent member finance wants a proper role of his wing in every procurement process.

However, the Chairman NHA intervened in the matter and sought a detailed briefing over the issue today where a decision is expected as unrest is visible amongst the engineering cadre over the checkmate given by the incumbent member finance.