Development work freezes

Development work in Rawalpindi city is at a standstill due to unpaid contractors.

RAWALPINDI: Development work in Rawalpindi city is at a standstill. The only construction that can be witnessed in the city is the construction of parking plazas by Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) at Fawara Chowk, Raja Bazaar.

Punjab government has not paid bills worth Rs30 billion to contractors, because of which city projects have been halted. These payments are due since June 17, 2010.

Out of the total 1,200 government contactors, not a single one is engaged in any development work in Rawalpindi division, which consists of the districts of Jhelum, Chakwal, Attock and Rawalpindi. Contractors said they will not work until they are paid.

Sheikh Rashid Expressway has been already abandoned and the elevated expressway project promised by Punjab chief minister two years ago has not even entered the take-off stage. Multi-billion projects like the Ring Road and Cherrah Dam have also been put in cold storage. Replacement of old pipelines and installation of sewage treatment plant is also in doldrums. TB Hospital and Rawalpindi Judicial Complex projects have been delayed for an indefinite period.

Malik Kaleem, leader of the contractors’ association, said that work on major projects has been stopped because the government “failed to pay up”.

EDO Finance Saqib Manan told The Express Tribune that the Punjab govt had imposed a ban on the release of funds for new projects due to shortage of funds. He claimed that after Punjab govt assures release of required funds, work on all ongoing projects would resume.

Chairman Government Contractors Welfare Association Rawalpindi region Abdul Hafeez Chaudhry said, “We waited a lot for Punjab government to pay our arrears but our amount against the government is piling up. We cannot continue work until the dues are cleared.”

“We can no longer provide salaries to labourers, so unless the government pays us, we will have to fire these daily wage earners,” he added.

Punjab government has imposed a ban on new tenders for development work. Imtiaz Rae, another government contractor, said he had not been paid by the government for over three years.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 7^th, 2010.