RAWALPINDI: Punjab Minister for Communication and Works Malik Sohaib Ahmad Bherth on Tuesday asked the district administration and Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) to complete the Rawalpindi Ring Road (R3) project by the December deadline fixed by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.

He stated this during a visit to the construction site along with Commissioner Aamir Khattak and Deputy Commissioner Dr Hassan Waqar Cheema.

At a briefing, the minister was informed that 30 per cent work on the project had been completed. Earthwork is 100 per cent complete.

The minister said the completion of the project will provide employment opportunities to the local people.

Officials inform minister that 30pc work on project has been completed

He also inspected the Khasala Interchange and Soan Bridge on the Ring Road.

The minister also chaired a meeting to review 314 development schemes in Rawalpindi. The review meeting held at the commissioner office was attended by parliamentarians Raja Hanif Advocate, Raja Sagheer Ahmed, Malik Abrar, Mansoor Afsar, Shaukat Raja, Naeem Ijaz Butt, Imran Ilyas Ch, Iftihkar Ahmed, the commissioner, deputy commissioner and other concerned officers.

The senior officials briefed him about ongoing and completed schemes of the Annual Development Plan (2023-2024), adding out of the 314 schemes, 227 were ongoing whereas 87 were newly proposed. As many as 28 schemes have been completed while the remaining are under process. The officials also said that physical progress on Rawalpindi Ring Road was 30pc. Moreover, the upgradation of Liaquat Bagh Library into e-library had been completed.

The meeting was informed that the revamping work on Holy Family Hospital was under process and would be completed by May 20. The minister was told that due to absence of feeder routes, metro bus service in twin cities was underutilised.

Taking the issue into account, the chief minister has approved 78 feeder buses for Rawalpindi which will cover 80 per cent area of the district. Furthermore, the meeting requested the members of the provincial assembly to allocate space for temporary transfer stations to ensure cleanliness in their respective constituencies.

The minister directed the officials concerned to complete all development schemes within the stipulated time.

“Our first priority is to complete main roads in the first phase and link roads in the second phase,” he added. The minister said public representatives should be taken on board while executing projects so that any kind of hindrance can be removed immediately.

He also instructed the officials to functionalise all filtration plants and tubewells so the citizens would be provided clean drinking water.

The minister also said one per cent of each project’s funds should be utilised for plantation to combat environmental changes and pollution.

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2024