Pindi takes another stab at long-stalled schemes

Ghazi Barotha project not included in Annual Development Programme

RAWALPINDI:

Nearly 40 per cent of funds allocated to the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) under this year’s Annual Development Programme (ADP) will be spent on the long-delayed Nullah Leh Expressway project.

Another such project, the Ghazi Barotha water project, missed out as the provincial government allocated Rs98.87 billion for six urban developments of the RDA including the Ring Road and Kutchery Chowk re-modelling projects.

Of that amount, Rs40 billion was allocated for the expressway. It includes Rs24.96 billion for land acquisition of the expressway and flood channel. Another Rs6.42 billion has been earmarked for the remodeling of Kutchery Chowk.

The budget includes Rs100 million for setting up the project management unit for the expressway project and the urban regeneration plan around Nullah Leh.

Another Rs26.96 billion has been set aside for the construction of a section of the 38.3-km Rawalpindi Ring Road. An amount of Rs425.9 million has been allocated for the construction of three additional floors at the RDA-operated parking plaza on Fuwara Chowk.

Long delayed

The Nullah Leh Expressway and Flood Channel project has been delayed for one reason or another since being inaugurated in 2007. The work first started during the presidency of Pervaiz Musharraf.

The project was stalled with the arrival of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government in the province while the Pakistan People’s Party was in power at the federal level.

The project didn’t take off even during the tenure of the next government when the PML-N in power in the province and at the Centre.

There was some headway during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in 2018, with the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) greenlighting the project. Despite that, there was no tangible work done on the project.

Similarly, the Rawalpindi Ring Road project has been delayed for the past 17 years. The project was conceived during the tenure of earlier governments but took off during the PTI tenure.

However, it was abruptly abandoned after a mega corruption scandal that resulted in the resignation of a high-ranking aide of the then prime minister and left the party red-faced.

The contract for the project remains terminated with no progress reported so far.

Meanwhile, the Ghazi Bharota water project, which envisions supplying 200 million gallons of water per day to the twin cities, was not part of the ADP.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 24^th, 2023.