RAWALPINDI: With just three months being left in the fiscal year, Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has not launched a single development project in the garrison city.

A senior RDA official told Dawn that last year, three projects were given to the civic body including Rawalpindi Ring Road, Kutchery Chowk remodeling and Leh Nullah Expressway and flood channel.

However, he said the work on these projects was limited to PC-I making and neither the PTI Punjab government nor the PML-N led central government started work on roads and other infrastructures.

“In the last tenure of the PML-N, the RDA completed the work on Improvement of Fawwara Chowk Parking Plaza, Liaquat Bagh Flyover and Double Road interchange. But, in last five years, the RDA did not start any work on these projects,” he said.

He said this fiscal year, Rawalpindi Ring Road project was included by federal government in the list of five projects for foreign investments.

“The fate of remaining two projects still hanged in the balance,” he said.

He said in the annual development programme of Punjab, there was no other project for the development of Rawalpindi and the civic body will stick to prepare homework for these projects only.

According to the plan, three main roads were to be repaired including Airport Road, Service Road and LHC Road.

Rs373,992 had been allocated for the repair of service road along Airport Road from Flying Club to Gulzar-i-Quaid Housing Scheme, Rs302,903 allocated for ther epair of LHC Road from Pakki Gali to G.T. Road and Rs501,311 allocated for Airport Road from Flying Club to Koral Chowk.

However, the senior official of RDA told Dawn that the civic body had done patch work on these roads while the condition of these roads was still bad.

He said the civic body was supposed to present the development projects for next fiscal year 2023-24 for preparation of annual development but it again sent three projects — Rawalpindi Ring Road, Leh Expressway and Flood Channel and Kutchery Chowk Remodeling project to include in annual development programme.

He said that due to unstable political situation in the country especially in Punjab, the government is not willing to start work on any project and the caretaker chief minister is reluctant to take decisions on development works.

He said the role of RDA was limited to approving building plans and to issuing NOC for housing projects.

He said it also failed to stop the mushroom growth of the housing societies in the area.

When contacted, RDA spokesman Mohammad Irfan said that the government had allocated funds for three projects of RDA and it was working on it.

However, he admitted that last year, no development work was launched.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2023