LHC stays Ring Road service road project

The Rawalpindi Bench of the Lahore High Court has suspended a single bench order that had allowed commercial construction along the service road of the Rawalpindi Ring Road and admitted intra-court appeals filed by the Punjab government, the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) and the Ring Road project administration.

A division bench comprising Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan and Justice Sardar Akbar issued notices to the commissioner, the district petrol pump committee and the petitioner, directing them to submit replies by July 16.

The appeals challenge the earlier single bench ruling in favour of petitioner Mazhar Rahim, who had obtained approval from the Ring Road administration to develop 102 kanals and 14 marlas of land for a petrol pump, a mosque, a green area and service roads on both sides of the Ring Road.

According to the case, the RDA commissioner had initially granted the required no-objection certificate (NOC), after which the petitioner paid Rs178.413 million in fees.