RAWALPINDI, Nov 2: The Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) has approved about 59 development projects under its annual development programme.

The projects are planned to be executed during the current financial year, sources told Dawn on Saturday.

The projects estimated to cost about Rs56.947 million were approved in a meeting of the Cantonment Board, presided over by the RCB president, Brig Hamid Khalil. The executive officer of the Board, Khawaja Iftikhar Mir, and other members of the Board also attended the meeting.

The projects include extension of water supply networks in the cantonment limits, construction of roads, streets and various buildings.

Accordingly, an amount of Rs32.562 million will be spent on water supply, Rs11.141 million have been kept for reconstruction of a drainage system, Rs10.366 million have been estimated to be incurred on construction of roads and streets whereas Rs5.782 million are to be spent on some highrise buildings.

An official of the RCB privy to the Board meeting told Dawn that the allocation made for development works in the budget 2002-03 was about Rs105.149 million but it was decreased to Rs56.947 million as a precautionary measure to avert any financial crisis in case of shortfall under any head of receipts.

Some of the main schemes are: laying of water supply pipeline networks in Tench Bhatta, Allama Iqbal Colony, Zahid Baig Shaheed Road, Zakria Chowk, Hali Road, Chur Chowk, Bakramandi, Westridge, Peshawar Road, Sherzaman Colony, Tusla Road, Mughalabad, Dhoke Syedan, Azizabad, Kamalabad, Jan Colony; installation of filtration plant at Tench Bhatta; repair works of tube wells in Westridge, Siham, Tench Bhatta, R.A. Bazaar, Cantonment General Hospital, Raheemabad, Tipu Road and Tank Valley Road.

A drainage system will be placed on both sides of Misrial Road from Range Road to PIA Colony Bridge and from Ghaffar Kiani Road to Allama Iqbal Colony Main Road. In addition, nullahs will be reconstructed from Banking Court to Tusla Road and Dhoke Chaudhrian. A sewerage pipeline will also be laid on Race Course and Peshawar Road.

The bridge at Sarwar Road is planned to be widened and main nullah from Police Station Road to Murree Road will be repaired besides desilting of main nullah. The development works on roads include recarpetting of Zafar Akbar Road, Mazhar Qayyum Road along with laying of a drainage system, improvement in Kiani Road from VIP route to Chaklala-II along with culverts over nullah, recarpeting of road and construction of a drainage system from Chaklala-II to Tipu Road and remaining portion of the Link Road in between Afshan Colony and Misrial Road.

The development works also include reconstruction of the boundary wall of Water Works building near Al-Mustafa Trust Chaklala-3 in addition to laying of a drain and culvert, reconstruction of the boundary wall of Cantonment Baord Model School at Tusla Road, construction of a wall around Cantonment Board tube well in Afshan Colony and compound wall around RCB land on Peshawar Road and some construction in Cantonemnt Board office and its schools.