RAWALPINDI: After spending Rs20 million on the feasibility study, work on the construction of two underpasses to make Murree Road signal free is unlikely to start in the current fiscal year.

“There are two reasons for not starting the construction of underpasses at Liaquat Bagh and Marrir Chowk. Nespak, which is the consultant of the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA), prepared the PC-2 and recommended acquiring land worth Rs1.4 billion. But the RDA refused to accept this and sought a revision in the plan to reduce the land acquisition cost,” said a senior official of the RDA.

The second reason, he added, was that the provincial government released funds for the feasibility study but did not include the project in its Annual Development Programme (ADP).

“If the project is not included in the ADP, the government may release funds from its supplementary grants. But the government has another reason for not starting the project in this fiscal year.”

He said the provincial government was of the view that the project may take a year for completion and the digging of Murree Road may create more problems for the commuters, leaving a bad impact on the performance of the PML-N before the general elections 2018.

He said the project was conceived after resentment from the residents of Rawalpindi who faced problems while traveling on Murree Road from Marrir Chowk to Faizabad after the construction of the metro bus track.

He said the provincial government released Rs20 million for the feasibility study and the RDA hired the services of Nespak to prepare the plan for the two underpasses.

“On September 5, a meeting was held at the RDA offices to review the initial plan for the underpasses and Nespak officials informed RDA Director General Talat Mehmood Gondal that Rs1.4 billion would be required for the acquisition of private land for the two underpasses.”

The director general informed the consultant that the civic body had not enough funds and the size of the land required for the underpasses should be reduced.

The official said the consultant was of the opinion that if the land size was reduced the underpasses would not serve the purpose and some signals would have to be installed to control traffic.

But the RDA asked the firm to revise the plan whether or not it resolves the traffic issue by 100pc.

On the other hand, a senior official of the district administration said the traffic mess increased on Murree Road after the construction of the metro bus elevated road as the government did not prepare a plan for the future and started the project in haste and later realised that there was a need for the underpasses.

PML-N former MNA Malik Shakil Awan told Dawn that the Liaquat Bagh and Marrir Chowk underpasses were the main project in NA-55.

He said he got approval from Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif for the project after which funds were released for the feasibility study but the RDA was making hurdles in the execution of the project.

“The funds will be released by the provincial government and the RDA will be the executing agency so it should carry out the work to make Murree Road 100pc signal free,” he said.

When contacted, RDA Chief Engineer Ather Hussain Bukhari said they were working to complete the plan and had assigned Nespak the task to prepare the PC-I. He said the feasibility study had been completed and the project would be sent to the Punjab government for a final approval soon.

Though the project was not included in the ADP, he added, the provincial government had the authority to release the funds through supplementary grants.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2017