Pindi’s seven uplift schemes ignored in Punjab's budget 2020-21

Minimum funds allocated for Ring Road

RAWALPINDI:

The provincial government while disregarding seven most important uplift projects of the garrison city in its budget for 2020-21 has approved minimum funds for road infrastructure projects, officials said.

“We were already expecting that the development funds will be slashed this year as part of government’s efforts to divert more resources to dealing with the coronavirus outbreak,” a Punjab finance ministry officer said requesting anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to the media,

The reduction in funding for projects like Ring Road and Leh Expressway would further delay the completion. These projects have been delayed for over a decade already.

As per Punjab Budget 2020-21 documents, the projects not included in the development plan of Rawalpindi are Liaquat Bagh Marir Chowk Signal-Free Corridor with an estimated project cost of Rs3 billion, Kutcheri Chowk remodeling at a cost of Rs1.6 billion, Defence Chowk remodeling at Rs2 billion, Double Road IGP Chowk remodeling at Rs2.25 billion, Do Darya-Lehtahar Road Bridge at Rs248 million, Rawalpindi Master Plan at a cost of Rs80 million, and a project involving construction of additional floors on Fawara Chowk Parking Plaza Rs250 million.

Mega projects included in the development plan are Ring Road at estimated cost of Rs57 billion, in which one-third of the amount is allocated for land acquisition this year, Leh Expressway project, which is worth Rs85 billion, with a budget allocation of Rs3 billion for the new financial year of which only Rs50 million funds would be included in the development plan.

Only Rs150 million would be kept in the development plan of two pedestrian bridges between Qadir Khan Road and Airport Road, and Dry Port Road and Airport Road, but very little funding has been allocated for these projects in the new financial year.

These two projects have been facing cuts in funding in every budget for the past many years resulting in delay in the completion.

A project management unit has been set up in the Rawalpindi commissioner's office for the Ring Road project, which has been withdrawn from the Rawalpindi Development Authority and handed over to the Lahore Ring Road Authority. 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18^th, 2020.