Bureaucratic red tape, cost escalation stem construction of judicial complex

Without the appropriate funds, building may never complete.

RAWALPINDI:

The judicial complex project may not be completed by the June 30 deadline due to the inadequacy of the allocated budget, it has been learnt.

The complex, expected to have 48 courtrooms and modern facilities, was begun under the Access to Justice Programme in 2007 when Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry inaugurated the project, with the then deadline of end-2009. The project was unable to reach completion due to the rising costs of construction material and repeated architectural changes, according to an officer of the provincial works department.

According to information gleaned by The Express Tribune, the provincial building department has asked the High Court an extra Rs120 million to ensure the timely completion of the project. Officials fear that if the funds are not released, the project may remain incomplete permanently suspending the moving of courts from the previous building to the new.

A visit to the under construction building reveals that work on for floors, doors and windows is due before the present courts can be shifted.

According to an official of the provincial building department, the project’s initial estimate was Rs380 million which remained suspended due to judicial crises. For this the government had to obtain revised cost tenders for resumption of work, he added. The revised cost then climbed to Rs470 million and now the contractor requires an additional Rs120 million to complete the project.

Discussions with representatives revealed that the legal community is anxiously seeking a speedy completion of the project. District Bar Association President Sajid Ilyas Bhatti said that two weeks ago at a meeting between the building department and contractor, they were ensured that the project would be completed on time. Bhatti added that no time should be wasted in transferring the courts to new building as the present area is too congested and overcroweded.

Despite repeated attempts Provincial Buildings Executive Engineer Sajid Akhtar could not be reached for comment.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24^th, 2012.