Mega Projects in Rawalpindi Cancelled as RDA Returns Funds to Provincial Government

The funds allocated for three projects in the garrison city, including the Kutchery Chowk Remodeling Project, Ring Road, and Leh Expressway, have been returned to the provincial treasury due to the Rawalpindi Development Authority’s (RDA) inability to initiate the projects.

A senior official from the RDA informed that the government had released over Rs. 1 billion for various mega-projects around the city. However, since the RDA was unable to begin the projects, the funds remained in its accounts and the interim government sought the money back from the authority.

The official stated that the incoming government would decide the outcome of the projects following the Punjab Assembly elections and the funds would be disbursed after the change in government.

Contrarily, a senior Punjab government official stated that the interim government did not have the authority to initiate or provide funds for new developmental activities and that it was established only to manage the day-to-day affairs of the province until the new elections. The official added that after the schedule for by-elections is announced, no development work can be started in the district.

According to a prominent RDA official, the civic body has requested the finance department to release the funding for these “ongoing projects.” The RDA was ready to begin these three projects, as per the official, but the Punjab finance department has not responded yet.

The RDA Director General (DG), Saif Anwar Jappa, stated that the caretaker ministry withdrew money for new development projects around the province, leading to the return of the funds.

He went on to say that the RDA planned to brief the interim provincial Chief Minister (CM), Mohsin Naqvi, on the Rawalpindi Ring Road the following week and that they had posted an advertisement in a Dubai-based newspaper to request applications for third-party verification of the alignments. Jappa added that if the caretaker CM agrees, the RDA will choose a consultant company and the project will begin after the formation of a new government in the upcoming financial year.

Via: Dawn