Budget cuts stall major projects
RAWALPINDI: Amid a severe financial crisis, the development budgets of all development authorities in Rawalpindi Division have been significantly reduced, while six major development projects have been put on hold for the new fiscal year.
The annual district development programmes of all six districtsRawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum, Chakwal, Talagang and Murreehave also been slashed by 60 per cent.
As a result, no new mega development project is expected to begin before June 30, 2027.
The plantation of Miyawaki forests has also been suspended across the division. According to district administration sources, no Miyawaki forest has been established in Rawalpindi city or any other district during the past three years.
Sources said two flagship projects associated with former interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed’s hometownthe Leh Expressway and the Mother and Child Hospitalhave been shelved indefinitely and will not be revived during the tenure of the present government.
The Murree Road Signal-Free Corridor project has also been deferred until December 2027.
The proposed mega sewerage tunnel project aimed at preventing annual urban flooding in Rawalpindi has also been quietly abandoned.
Meanwhile, the Ghazi Barotha Water Project, intended to meet the water needs of Rawalpindi and Islamabad for the next 100 years, has been scrapped after its estimated cost increased from Rs17 billion to Rs110 billion.
Relevant development authorities have reportedly been told that the projects could only proceed if funding is secured through loans from the World Bank or the Asian Development Bank, which officials consider highly unlikely.
Former Rawalpindi Development Authority chairman Tariq Murtaza said the Leh Expressway, sewerage tunnel and water treatment plant had been approved and funded during his tenure, but were halted after the change of government.
He said prolonged delays have pushed the estimated cost of the Leh Expressway from Rs17 billion to Rs100 billion, while the sewerage tunnel and water treatment plant project has risen from Rs30 billion to Rs110 billion.
He warned that further delays would make the schemes financially unviable and urged the immediate launch of the Murree Road Signal-Free Corridor, Leh Expressway and sewerage tunnel projects to resolve Rawalpindi’s chronic flooding and traffic congestion.