ISLAMABAD - Prof Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms, has said that stay orders and bails secured by contractors and officials in different corruption cases pending in the courts need to be decided on urgent basis, so that the responsible for corruption could be put behind the bars, to create lesson for others.
Corrupt practices in development projects have caused delays and cost over runs worth billions of rupees, and need ruthless accountability”, said Prof. Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Planning, Development & Reforms, during his visit to the construction site of 09-storey New Pakistan Secretariat Block building at Constitutional Avenue.  He said, “New Judicial Policy for expeditious disposal of sub judice cases involving contractors and officials is needed to eliminate the corrupt practices in public sector development projects”. 
The Federal Minister said, “It is heart-breaking to note the criminal negligence and corrupt practices of previous authorities, which caused non completion of the project within stipulated time frame and has resulted into huge cost escalation of up to 3.4 billion from the original 1.1 billion in 2005”.  Moreover, contractors with blemished professional credentials were hired for the execution of various project components, resulting in heavy losses to the national exchequer”.
 rof. Ahsan Iqbal highlighted, “Long stay orders and bails secured by contractors and officials in different corruption cases pending in the courts are obstructing action in corruption cases. These need to be decided on urgent basis, so that those responsible for corruption could be put behind the bars, to create lesson for others”.
He explained, “We are at a critical juncture of our history where perform or pay is the only way forward.  Therefore, Pakistan cannot afford ill-planning, corruption mismanagement and wasteful expenditure of resources any more. He directed that the building should be completed within six months”. The project will provide 700,000 square feet of office space for government offices, and will save millions of rupees spent on rent for government offices every year.  It will be the biggest public office building in the country.
Later in the day, the Federal Minister visited the site of Jamia Masjid Secretariat, where he was briefed on the plan of new design for extension of secretariat block mosque.  He directed the authorities concerned to speed up the project for its timely execution to accommodate more worshippers (Namaazis).