Key projects at risk as RDA proposes budget

The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has formulated a Rs1.87 billion (Rs1,878.608 million) budget for the financial year 2024-25. The budget will be presented before the sub-committee of the finance wing for final approval.

Apart from the two ongoing Ring Road schemes, the projects of the ‘Feasibility Study of Ring Road Phase 2’ and ‘Nullah Leh Trunk Sewage’ have also been included in the budget. Four development schemes proposed by the RDA have been included in the Annual Development Programme (ADP) of Punjab.

According to the RDA budget’s document, expenditures worth Rs354.888m were incurred against the allocation of Rs693.163m in the outgoing fiscal year. For the new fiscal year, an amount of Rs818.608m has been earmarked for non-developmental expenditure, including Rs495.683m for salaries and Rs70m for pensions besides Rs252.925m for operating expenses.

The total expenditure incurred on the completion of ongoing development schemes and feasibility study of new schemes is estimated at Rs33,795.445m, but only Rs1,060m will released for both ongoing and new development schemes during the upcoming financial year, risking delay in the completion of these projects.

Of a total of Rs26,969.7m for the ongoing development scheme of the Ring Road project, an amount of Rs1,020m will be during the new financial year. The total cost for land acquisition, compensation of public property, afforestation and transfer of utility services in the Ring Road project is Rs6,724.73m out of which Rs20m are being released.

Similarly, during the new financial year, the feasibility study of the project of transfer of open sewage from Nala Leh through the big trunk sewer outside the city will incur a total expenditure of Rs48.92m, but Rs20m has been released for this in the new financial year.

The feasibility study of Phase 2 of Thalian M2 to GT Road Banth Mor N5 of the Rawalpindi Ring Road project will cost Rs52.095m out of which only Rs20m will be released for the new financial year. The release of meagre funds is expected to delay the timely completion of these projects. The total cost will be released in phases for these development schemes.

It is worth mentioning that after the construction of the mega project of the Metrobus Service between Rawalpindi and Islamabad in Rs44b, RDA has not been able to undertake any major project of this stature.

The total cost of Rs38.3km carriageway from GT Road Banth N5 to Thalian M2 of Ring Road will be Rs26,969m. An amount of Rs48.928m will be spent on a detailed feasibility study of the project to replace Nullah Leh's open sewage with a major trunk sewer to the out-of-town area.

It should be noted that the work on the Rawalpindi Ring Road project is in progress, while the Nullah Leh project, which has been reduced to the trunk sewer project in the first phase by abolishing the alternative traffic route, has been pending for a long time and every year in the monsoon, the Nullah Leh project is closed. Millions of rupees are being spent on cleaning. Despite this, citizens are affected by the worst environmental pollution due to the inundation of low-lying areas in monsoons from Nullah Leh and open sewage throughout the year.

Another mega project of water supply to twin cities through the Ghazi Barotha Water Supply Project has yet to be started by the Capital Development Authority (CDA). The cost of the said project has reached Rs100 billion at this point.

The ongoing work on the Nullah Leh Expressway and sewerage transfer project, which was started in 2006-7 at a cost of Rs17b, was terminated by the then government in 2008, jacking up the cost to over Rs80b.