Ring Road faces fresh probe

The Punjab government has launched a formal inquiry into the alleged alteration of the approved design of the Rawalpindi Ring Road (RRR) project and the granting of access to privately owned service areas along the controlled-access corridor, with several senior officials coming under scrutiny over alleged procedural irregularities and possible breaches of government regulations.

Official sources said Additional Chief Secretary Punjab Ahmad Raza Sarwar has been tasked with conducting a preliminary inquiry and submitting a report to the provincial government. The inquiry will determine whether there is prima facie evidence of corruption, breaches of standard operating procedures (SOPs) or other administrative irregularities. If sufficient evidence is found, the matter is expected to be referred to the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) for a comprehensive investigation.

As part of the inquiry, the Additional Chief Secretary recently visited Rawalpindi and examined official records at the office of the Director General of the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) in the Government Officers’ Residence (GOR) complex. The records reviewed included no-objection certificates (NOCs), approved layouts, access roads and planning approvals relating to the project.

The controversy surfaced during proceedings before the Lahore High Court (LHC)’s Rawalpindi Bench, where the RDA filed a writ petition and a subsequent intra-court appeal challenging the legality of an alleged NOC issued on January 28, 2026.

In its appeal, the RDA argued that the Ring Road is an ECNEC-approved controlled-access highway and that any additional entry or exit point, service road or access connection requires prior approval from the competent government authorities and the relevant technical forums.

The authority further maintained that no record of the alleged NOC dated January 28, 2026 could be traced in official files, departmental records or dispatch registers.

According to the RDA, permitting an additional access point would fundamentally alter the project’s approved design, engineering framework, traffic management plan and controlled-access system. The authority also maintained that it was merely the implementing agency and had no authority to alter the approved route, design, interchanges or controlled-access framework of its own accord.

The petitioner, however, contended before the court that the NOC had been lawfully issued, enabling approvals for land-use conversion, commercial building plans, petrol filling stations and other developments.

Court records show that the petitioner acquired 46 kanals and 13 marlas of land on the northern side of the project and 56 kanals and one marla on the southern side. The petitioner claimed to have paid more than Rs31.784 million in government dues and building fees and invested over Rs753.2m, including third-party contractual commitments, in developing commercial service areas.