ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Kashmir Affairs, Gilgit-Baltistan and States and Frontier Regions was informed on Wednesday that the government was providing an annual maintenance allowance of Rs40,935,600 to former rulers, successors and dependents of acceding states.
Senator Asad Qasim chaired the committee meeting to review matters relating to the rehabilitation and improvement of road networks in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), as well as financial and administrative matters concerning the GB Council.
The panel was informed that the major beneficiaries of the maintenance allowance include the Ameer of Bahawalpur and the Nawab of Junagadh, each receiving Rs12,000,000 annually, followed by the Mir of Khairpur and the Khan of Manavadar with Rs8,400,000 each. The other recipients include the dependents of former Nawabs of Dir, Makran and the Khan of Kalat, notables of Chitral and the Sheikh Sahib of Mangrol, with allowances ranging from Rs9,000 to Rs75,600. These payments are being disbursed through two channels: Rs20,460,000 via KA, GB & SAFRON and Rs20,475,600 through the Finance Division.
At the outset, the committee was briefed on the issue of the harvesting law. Senator Saleem expressed concern that the matter had been delayed for nearly 30 years, allowing illegal harvesting to continue. He stressed that the issue could not be kept pending any longer and suggested clubbing the two-year periods together so that the process could be completed without further delay.
The committee was informed that GB had approximately 6,750 kms of metalled and shingle roads and around 700 bridges. The committee was apprised of damage caused to roads and bridges by cloudbursts, landslides and GLOFs. It was stated that a bridge, designed for a lifespan of 100 years, was damaged within three years due to a cloudburst, while bridges provided by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) were intended for emergency purposes.
The committee was informed that rehabilitation works were planned on KKH (N-35), MNJC (N-15) and Jaglot-Skardu Road (S-1), including slide shelters and protection measures at vulnerable locations.
The recent flood damages to bridges and roads were also highlighted, with restoration works under process.
The committee was further briefed on the 216-km Gilgit-Shandur Road (N-140), with physical progress on its three packages ranging from 65 to 71 percent and targeted completion by December 2026.
