RAWALPINDI: Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad has rejected a proposal of the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) to reduce the length and width of the proposed Leh Expressway and Flood Channel and directed it to complete the PC-I as soon as possible.

A senior official of the RDA told Dawn that the civic body had come up with the proposal to reduce the cost of the Rs79.129 billion project, as Rs27 billion would be spent on acquisition of land alone.

He said the RDA had proposed to acquire 1,279 kanals at an estimated cost of Rs27bn, which was higher than the construction cost of the expressway and the flood channel.

He said the RDA had also suggested to remove the hurdle in the smooth flow of water in Leh Nullah and improve the existing service road on both sides of the nullah. Through these changes, the cost of the project would be reduced to Rs30 to Rs40 billion.

Due to the higher cost of the project, no investor was willing to invest in the project under public-private partnership. The official said a local investor and owner of a private housing society had conducted a feasibility study but later refused to start the work.

He said the Punjab government had no funds and had already stated that the project would be undertaken under the public-private partnership mode. He said the RDA had also suggested to use its land allocated for a sewage treatment plant in Adiala for a housing scheme and spend the money on the project.

Interior minister directs RDA to prepare PC-I for approval from Public Private Partnership Authority

The RDA sought legal opinion from provincial law department whether the status of the land would be changed or not. However, he said the law department did not reply.

Another official of the RDA said it was not possible to change the purpose of land as the land in Adiala village had been purchased for the sewage treatment plant from funds acquired from Asian Development Bank in 2005.

“Due to this, the civic body made a proposal to reduce the length of the expressway which was rejected by the interior minister, who has been appointed as the focal person for the project by Prime Minister Imran Khan,” said the official.

According to the original plan, the total cost of the project was estimated at Rs79.129 billion, including Rs6.046bn for construction of roads on both sides of Leh Nullah from Soan River to I.J. Principal Road, Rs16.675bn for the flood channel, Rs16.524bn for structures and bridges, Rs2.820bn for a trunk sewer from Moti Mahal to Adiala village, Rs27.750bn for land acquisition, Rs2.5bn for shifting of utility services and Rs6.810bn for horticulture, taxes and consultancy charges.

As many as 1,604 houses fall in the right of way of Leh Expressway and 1,279 kanals is to be acquired - 1,035.98 kanal private land, 132.40 kanals owned by Military Engineering and Works, 54.72 kanals of Chaklala Cantonment Board and 56 kanals of Rawalpindi Cantonment Board.

When contacted, Parliamentary Secretary on Narcotics Sheikh Rashid Shafique confirmed that the interior minister has rejected the proposal of the RDA to reduce the length of the expressway.

He said Sheikh Rashid wanted to start the project to end traffic issues on Murree Road from Marrir Chowk to Faizabad.

“The second issue is flooding in monsoon in the garrison city and there is a dire need to construct the flood channel and use the sewage of Leh Nullah for agricultural purposes,” he said.

He said Sheikh Rashid asked the RDA to make PC-I so it would be presented to Public Private Partnership Authority under the chairmanship of Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar for final approval.

He said investors were willing to do the work and a Chinese firm was also working on a feasibility study for a circular train between Rawalpindi and Islamabad along the nullah.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2020