Uplift projects in limbo

Provincial govt fails to issue funds for schemes in first quarter of FY 2024-25

RAWALPINDI:

In the first quarter of the 2024-25 financial year, spanning from July 1 to October 15, no funds were released for new or ongoing major development schemes in Rawalpindi due to a severe financial crisis.

As a result, eight long-pending mega projects, some delayed for up to 20 years, have been shelved once again.

The escalating cost of construction materials, including cement, gravel, sand, and bricks, has further compounded the problem, with project costs now rising by 20-30 per cent. These stalled projects include the Rawalpindi Ring Road, Leh Expressway Project, Ghazi Brotha Water Supply Scheme, Muridhar Java Dam, Dadhucha Dam, Chahan Dam Water Supply Scheme, a sewage tunnel and treatment plant, and a new water pipeline from Rawal Dam.

Additionally, 309 new development schemes under the district council and municipal corporation have also been delayed due to the unavailability of funds.

The Punjab government has halted development funds for all local municipal bodies, including the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA), Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA), and the District Council, providing only enough to cover salaries.

This has left new projects buried in bureaucratic files.

The Rawalpindi Ring Road, originally slated for completion by December 31, 2024, has seen its deadline pushed to March 2025, and now extended to June 2025 due to funding issues. The fate of additional funding for the project remains uncertain. Likewise, the Dadhucha Dam project, which had commenced, was halted midway, and the highly anticipated Nullah Leh Expressway has been postponed until June 2025.

The Rawal Dam water pipeline project, planned with support from the Asian Development Bank, has also been halted due to the financial crisis.

No new funds for mega projects are expected before December 31, 2024, ensuring that these eight long-delayed initiatives will remain dormant this year, as they have been for the past two decades. Despite requests for funds under the annual and district development programs, the Punjab government has deprioritised these schemes until further notice.

District Development Committee Chairman MNA Engineer Qamarul Islam noted that Rs300 million has been secured for district road development, and funds have been allocated to complete two new hospitals in Rawat and Chakri.

He added that the PML-N government aims to resume work on the mega projects, with the Ring Road now targeted for completion in 2025.