TOBA TEK SINGH, Sept 17: Grave concern has been expressed by people belonging to Toba and Gojra over reported efforts to change the route of M-4 Motorway project between Faisalabad and Multan.

Sources said that in a recent meeting held at Islamabad, influential federal ministers of the ruling party from Jhang and Muzaffargarh had pressed NHA officials concerned to lay the road via Jhang and Muzaffargarh instead of the already surveyed Toba-Gojra-Multan route.

Millions of rupees have already been spent during the last few years over the feasibility, survey and on the procedure of acquiring farmland from farmers in Faisalabad, Toba Tek Singh, Jhang, Khanewal and Multan districts.

This project was to begin in March this year but it was delayed. According to the feasibility, one interchange each was proposed at Gojra and Toba Tek Singh. The Gojra interchange was supposed to also facilitate travellers of Sahiwal, Okara and Samundri to use the motorway towards Islamabad and Peshawar while the interchange at Toba Tek Singh was to benefit motorists from Kamalia, Pirmahal, Rajana, Chichawatni, Burewala, Vehari and Mailsi.

A source disclosed that a ruling party MPA from Burewala, Khalid Mahmood Chohan, had written a letter to the president and prime minister in which he had expressed concern over reported re-routing of the project.