Financial crunch puts brakes on Pindi's uplift

Rising costs of construction materials further exacerbate crisis

RAWALPINDI:

Development activities in the Rawalpindi Division have come to a halt, with no new projects initiated in any of its six districts—Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum, Chakwal, Talagang, and Murree—due to a severe financial crisis. From July 1st to the present, the first quarter of the fiscal year 2023-2024 under the Annual Development Programme (ADP) and District Development Fund (DDF) has seen no funds released.

The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA), Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), Municipal Corporation, Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA), Municipal Committees, and District Council have all been unable to release development funds, leading to widespread delays in planned projects.

Additionally, rising costs of essential materials like cement, sand, gravel, wood, and steel have further complicated the situation, requiring a reassessment of new schemes and projects.

This marks an unprecedented delay in the disbursement of development funds by the Punjab government.

Typically, these funds are released by the end of July after the provincial budget is approved. However, as the financial year 2024-25 enters its third month, not a single development fund has been provided. Only repair and road patching funds have been made available.

The shortage of funding has halted all development programmes announced by the District Development Committee and local bodies. Government institutions are currently operating with only salary budgets, and field staff from the engineering department have been idle for three months, with no new tenders issued. Moreover, the original PC-1 cost estimates for projects have become obsolete due to the delays.

District Development Committee Chairman Engineer Qamarul Islam stated that all new district development schemes are ready for implementation.

He expects funding to commence in October, which will allow the District Council, Municipal Corporation, Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), and Parks and Horticulture (PHA) to issue tenders for various projects.

This aligns with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government's plan to undertake record development work in Punjab this year.