ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Communications has expressed concerns about interchanges on the motorway for housing societies, stating that the National Highway Authority (NHA) should not become complicit in the expansion of private enterprises.

The committee had a detailed briefing on the issuance of a no objection certificate (NOC) to Capital Smart City, Islamabad, for the construction of a motorway interchange. Senator Aon Abbas questioned the legality of granting this NOC to a new colony on M-2.

Senator Tallal Chaudhry emphasised that the interchange for this society was strategically located at the motorway’s entrance and should be established as a formal interchange like others.

He requested a comparative review of the previous and new policies.

Committee seeks report after Balochistan senator says 46,000 accidents reported on N-25 in five years

The committee noted that private business interests were increasing with this interchange, cautioning that the NHA risked becoming a business partner under the guise of development. Future policy should benefit the motorway rather than private entities, it observed.

Replying to the question, the NHA chairman clarified that according to the policy governing interchanges, if a housing society possessed 4,000 kanal of land, it was eligible for an interchange.

The associated fee is Rs5 million, with a rate of Rs60,000 per kanal. He noted that the locations for future interchanges on the motorway would be announced soon.

Officials mentioned that 14 institutions were involved in granting permission for the construction of interchanges.

Senate panel agenda

The committee agenda included a discussion on a notice raised by Senator Mohsin Aziz regarding issues faced by commuters travelling from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the Islamabad International Airport, specifically concerning the lack of dedicated access from the M1 section to the airport.

The NHA chairman stated that the roundabout was closed after the construction of the metro-bus route. He suggested those travelling from Peshawar could use the Fateh Jang exit instead of the Islamabad interchange to reach the airport.

He assured that efforts were being made to address this issue and that he would consult with the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and report back to the committee.

Similarly, Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri raised concerns regarding alarming statistics from the Balochistan Medical Emergency Response Centre (BMERC), which reported 46,000 accidents on Balochistan highways over the last five years due to deteriorating conditions.

She expressed disappointment with the lack of satisfactory responses.

Senator Samina Mumtaz voiced concerns about corruption in Balochistan, arguing that local communities were driven to violence due to inadequate infrastructure.

She alluded to recent tragedies and called for accountability regarding the funds spent on projects in Balochistan over the last decade.

She claimed that funds were mismanaged, highlighting daily fatalities on the roads and linking these issues to rising extremism and corruption across institutions.

The NHA chairman explained that the member was referring to N-25. The committee chairman pointed out that accidents were more frequent on N-25 and required urgent solutions, adding that projects exceeding Rs70 million went through third-party audits.

Senator Abdul Qadir mentioned that there were four projects on N-25, valued at Rs40 billion, with an annual allocation of Rs5 billion, suggesting that completion would take ten years.

The committee chairman recommended new projects would not be initiated in Balochistan until the ongoing projects were finished.

Senator Qadir noted that contractors working in Balochistan should be provided security, as a lack of safety leads to equipment being damaged.

To this, the NHA chairman confirmed that Rs26.5 billion had been invested on the N-25 highway over the past ten years. The NHA chairman assured that once work commenced on the ‘bloody road’, (N-25) safety signs would also be installed.

The committee chairman requested detailed information regarding the development work on N-25 over the past decade.

Meanwhile, the Motorway Police chief stated that full deployment on N-25 was not feasible due to security concerns.

Those who attended the meeting included senators Dost Ali Jeesar, Samina Mumtaz, Zamir Hussain Ghumro, Mohammad Abdul Qadir, Muhammad Tallal Badar, Mohsin Aziz, and Senator Aon Abbas.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2024