Work on Chakwal-Sohawa Road deferred

CHAKWAL:

Construction work on the Chakwal-Sohawa Road has been deferred as the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) has not released funds for the project.

MNAs from the area Major (retd) Tahir Iqbal, Begum Iffat Liaqat and Raja Javed Ikhlas had assured the people that the work on the Chakwal-Sohawa and Chakwal-Mandra roads will start as the tenders have been taken by the National Logistics Cell .

Now the ECNEC has approved funds for the Chakwal-Mandra Road only, deferring the Chakwal-Sohawa Road for indefinite period.

People of the area have resented the ECNEC decision.

Former Chakwal tehsil nazim Sardar Aftab Akbar has said that Major Tahir Iqbal, Begum Iffat Liaqat and Raja Javed Ikhlas have failed to honour their promises to the people of Chakwal and Gujar Khan. Local PML-N leaders have also demanded of the government to initiate the stalled work on Chakwal-Sohawa Road.

The two projects were approved by former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf. The projects were scheduled to be completed by June 30, 2013, at a cost of Rs5.4 billion. The PPP government had also released funds. The work was stopped due to a stay order by the Supreme Court, which later gave a go-ahead to the two projects.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 6^th, 2014.