‘Hyderabad-Sukkur motorway to be completed in 2 years’

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Secretary Dr Sohail Rajput on Tuesday chaired a meeting to review progress regarding the construction of the Hyderabad-Sukkur motorway (M6) project, ARY News reported.

During the meeting, the Hyderabad commissioner told the meeting that NHA will start work on the construction of M6 motorway in Jamshoro and Hyderabad.

The NHA officials briefed the chief secretary that work on the M6 motorway will start from both sides of the section – Hyderabad and Rohri. The officials further informed that construction on motorway would be completed in 24 months.

“A bridge will be constructed on River Indus between Jamshoro and Hyderabad,” the meeting was told.

The Sindh chief secretary directed authorities concerned to speed up the construction work on the mega project.

Last year in December, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif laid the foundation stone of the Sukkur-Hyderabad motorway M-6.

The scam

According to documents, the National Highway Authority (NHA) had released an amount of Rs. 4.09 billion to DC Matiari for the purchase of land for M-6 motorway. The accused drew Rs 1.82 billion cash from the bank for the procurement of land for 70 kilometers of the road.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Naushahro Feroz, Tashfeen Alam Khan, DC of Matiari, Adnan Rasheed, and Assistant Commissioner of Matiari, Mansoor Abbasi, embezzled funds deposited for the process.

Three civil servants withdrew Rs. 2.3 billion from the Sindh Bank account in which National Highway Authority had deposited the funds by using cheques in their names.

Abbasi and Rasheed were arrested on 18 November 2022, while Alam fled to Azerbaijan the same day. Sindh government is seeking an Interpol red warrant for his arrest and extradition.

Three Sindh Bank officials, including Area Manager, Tabish Shah, have also been arrested by Federal Investigation Agency in the case.

Of the amount withdrawn, only Rs556 million was actually disbursed to landowners with Rs 446 million recovered from Rasheed, which leaves Rs1.32 billion still unaccounted for.