LAHORE: The Punjab government on Monday claimed that it had to bear no expenses for making payments to the manufacturer of the substandard paint applied on the bikers` lane in Lahore.

`The paint used on bikers` lanes in Lahore was applied by a local company on a trial basis under a one-year guarantee.

No Punjab government funds were expended and no payments were made to the company. As part of the trial phase, the same firm will reapply the paint at no additional cost,` Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said in a statement.

Following complaints related to the fading of paint on bikers` lane on Ferozepur Road, the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) administration has constituted a fact-findingcommittee to probe the matter.

Since a show-cause notice has also been served to the contractor and the committee comprising senior officials of the Traffic Engineering and Transport Planning Agency, Environment Protection Agency and the National Engineering Services Pakistan will soon submit its report.

A spokesperson for the LDA said that local paint was used in the pilot project to make it cost-effective. The cost of the local paint, including f ree maintenance for a year, is Rs153 per square foot, while the imported paint would have cost Rs1,270 per square foot. If imported paint had been used, the project`s cost would have increased 8 to 10 times, he claimed. Staff Reporter