RAWALPINDI: The Punjab Board of Revenue has approved the price for the land acquisition for the Rawalpindi Ring Road project and in this regard, Rs2.2 billion will be spent. The payments will likely start from December 5.

A senior official of the district administration told Dawn that 5,300 kanals would be acquired for Rs2.2 billion. He said that under the law, the provincial board of revenue issued the notification. In this regard, the notices were issued to the land owners to contact the district administration’s revenue department within 15 days.

He said more than 200 houses and structures would be affected and Rs500 million had been allocated in this regard. He said construction work on Rawalpindi Ring Road had started on the land which was acquired in 2021. He said the land price would be given to the landowners according to the rate in 2021.

He said for the 38.3-kilometre road, a total of 8,992 kanals was required out of which 3,692 kanals had already been acquired and 5,300 kanals would formally be acquired soon.

200 houses and structures to be affected by project

He said Section 17 (4 and 6) of the Punjab Land Acquisition Act 1894 was imposed in September last year. The total cost of the project is Rs33.7 billion, including Rs6.7 billion for land acquisition, while the total length of the main carriageway is 38.3km.

The Rawalpindi Ring Road project became controversial during the tenure of former prime minister Imran Khan as he stopped the work on the old alignment after embezzlement allegations.

His government then cancelled the alignment and formed a new alignment from Rawat to Motorway measuring 38.3 kilometres. Subsequently, Imran Khan inaugurated the project and gave the contract to the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO). However, the work could not start after the passage of a no-confidence motion against him in the National Assembly in April 2022.

Last year, then prime minister Shehbaz Sharif asked the RDA to hire a consultant to seek third-party validation for the optimal route of the Rawalpindi Ring Road project. During the PTI tenure, two routes were planned for the project. As per the old alignment in the 2020 plan, the Rs64 billion project was 66.3km in length, from Rawat Radio Pakistan to Thalian and from Thalian to Sangjani.

In the new alignment in 2021, the road is 38.3km long. It originates from National Highway (N-5) at Baanth, crosses through Chakbeli, Adiala, and Chakri roads, and terminates at Motorway M-2 at Thalian Interchange.

However, the consultant validated the 2021 alignment, which was also approved by Imran Khan. Later, Shehbaz Sharif laid the foundation stone of the project in August 2023.

Following the instructions of Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, the number of machinery working on the project has been increased from 317 to 450.

Currently, various machines, including three batching plants, 205 dumpers, 18 dozers, and 69 excavators, are being used. A senior official of the district administration said that the work on the project would likely be completed on time.

The deadline for this project is August 2024. “The design speed of the road will be 120 kilometres per hour. It is a standard controlled access road, including five interchanges,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 22nd, 2023