ISLAMABAD: To avoid further delay in the extension of Margalla Avenue from Golra Mor to G.T. Road, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has decided to make a change to the original road plan.

Under the new plan, instead of the southern side the road will now pass from the northern side of D-12, 13 and 14 sectors.

The decision has been taken to avoid Shah Allah Ditta village where the residents have refused to vacate land. The diversion, according to the civic agency, will also benefit the upcoming sectors of C-14, 15 and 16.

An officer of the CDA requesting anonymity said the construction work on the nine-kilometre-long Margalla Avenue extension continued since June 2012. At present, about 40 per cent of work has been completed.

“The extension of the four-lane avenue was estimated to cost Rs1 billion project according to PC-1. However, the contract was later contracted for Rs588 million. Though the road should have been ready by June 2013, due to slow pace of work and a number of controversies the project still remain incomplete,” he said.

The project ran into a controversy even before its launch in January 2012 when the then chairman CDA announced that the contract would be given without tenders.

However, the then member engineering, director and deputy director roads north termed the chairman’s decision against PPRA (Public Procurement Regulatory Authority) rules. As a result, these officials were suspended. Later, on the advice of the CDA legal wing, tenders were invited and the project was awarded for Rs588 million.

“At that time, there were also speculations that some influential personalities, who had already purchased land in Shah Allah Ditta, were pushing for the project. However, after two years the land in the village has become a hurdle in the way of the project, he said.

When contacted, Sanaullah Aman, CDA member engineering, said work had been completed on about six kilometres portion of the road and it just needed carpeting which would take a fortnight.

“The CDA has been facing resistance in the 2.5km area where a hamlet and the graveyard of Shah Allah Ditta are located. The residents are not ready to vacate the village and the graveyard,” he said.

“The planning wing has been requested to devise an alternative way passing from D-12, 13 and 14 which is almost a kilometre away from Shah Allah Ditta.”

Mr Aman said there was place between D-12 and the hills to construct the road. As soon as the planning wing approves the amended design, construction will be started. Work will be completed before the end of the current financial year. However, he added, the cost of the project would increase to Rs650 million.

Mr Aman said there was also a proposal to make a 2.5km flyover in the disputed land which can be constructed in future if the flow of traffic increased on the diverted road.

Another officer of the CDA added that the Margalla Avenue would boost the value of the land, mostly owned by five personalities, he added.

“These people have made an investment of billions of rupees in the area. On the other hand, the New Benazir Bhutto International Airport is facing an uncertainty and even in November 2013 it was announced by the government that the airport would be shifted to Rawat,” he said.

Some housing societies in Zone II are also trying to push the CDA for the early completion of the road. A proposal has been floated to link the Margalla Avenue with Kashmir Avenue through Motorway (N-I and N-II) to benefit some housing societies, he said.

“A few years back, a residential project was launched by a private housing society near Kuri Road and its owner offered to the CDA that he would bear the cost of the construction of the road. But now CDA is considering paying for the road project which is beneficial only for private personalities,” he said.

Mohammad Naeem, who has a property business, said a number of people had purchased plots in different housing societies in Zone II.

“The investors believe that as soon as Margalla Avenue is opened, prices of plots will increase by 40 per cent,” he said.