The precarious canal: Residents move court demanding Leh Expressway

With the city susceptible to more floods, five citizens seek help to restart the project.

RAWALPINDI:

Five residents of Rawalpindi have approached the Lahore High Court for resumption of the Nullah Leh Expressway and Flood Channel Project, which were abandoned by the Punjab government.

Ali Jan Awais and four other men through Advocate Asad Rajpoot have filed a writ petition with the LHC’s Rawalpindi bench asking the court to direct the Punjab government to resume the multi-billion project without any further delay.

Citing director general (DG) Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA), project director of the expressway, chief secretary Punjab, chairman board of planning and development Punjab and the federal government as respondents, the five petitioners said the authorities should be directed to resume work on Rs17.76 billion worth of projects in the best interest of the people living on the banks of Leh.

The petitioners fear that the denizens of the city remain susceptible to the threats of floods in the 45-kilometre-long Leh. The changing climate and increased rainfall in the twin cities has further enhanced the risk of flooding in the area.

They said the project was started in 2007 but was halted after the change of government in 2008. Implementing the Leh Expressway project, it has been argued in the petition, “would not only help in controlling the floods but also reduce the disposal of solid waste in Leh and ease the pressure of increasing vehicular traffic.”

Citing the political interests the only reason for the abandonment of the project the petitioners said as many as 21 different ideas had been floated in the last many years to control the flooding in the Leh that can not afford three to four hours of continuous rain; of these the project of having roads on both sides of Leh had been considered the best solution.

According to the details of the project given to Frontier Works Organization on October 26, 2007, half of it was going to be funded by the federal government and 50 per cent was to be made by Punjab government.

The expressway was to have 12 flyovers and three interchanges, with a 10 km and 9.9 km long road on the right and left side of Leh respectively.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 31^th,  2011.