RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC) on Thursday said it would launch a Rs230 million project to repair streets and roads in all the 46 union councils of the city.

Chief Municipal Officer (CMO) Khalid Goraya told Dawn that on the recommendations of elected members the development work would be started after Rabiul Awal 12.

He said tenders would be floated in a day or two and the project would be completed in about three months.

He said funds for the project had already been allocated in the annual development programme 2017-18.

Rs5m will be spent in each of the 46 union councils, says chief municipal officer

“An amount of Rs5 million will be spent in each union council and the main focus will be on the reconstruction of roads and streets in areas which had been ignored in the past years,” he said.

He said the mayor wanted to distribute the funds among the treasury and opposition members equally, adding the opposition members had already submitted development schemes for their union councils.

“Funds for this development programme will be spent from the RMC funds allocated for the fiscal 2017-18,” he said.

On the other hand, opposition members said there was a dire need to improve the roads such as Raja Bazaar to Dingi Kohi, Kashmiri Bazaar, Jamia Masjid Road, Sadiqabad, Glass Factory and roads in Satellite Town.

“The development work will be visible when the main roads and streets are reconstructed as their condition has deteriorated,” said Sheikh Rashid Shafique, the union council chairman from Sarafa Bazaar.

He said the road from Fawara Chowk to Dingi Kohi and to Ganjmandi was in a bad shape and needed repair.

The RMC carried out work to fill potholes on main roads for Ashura procession, he added.

Zeeshan Ahmed, the Ganjmandi UC chairman, said there was a dire need to repair drains and improve the condition of roads which had developed potholes.

He said the main road of Kashmiri Bazaar and Astabal Road from Novelty Cinema to Ganjmandi needed repair.

CMO Goraya said some roads, including Kashmiri Bazaar and Saidpur roads, had fallen in the jurisdiction of the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA), and should be repaired by it.

He said the RMC had approved all the schemes of the UC chairmen and will soon conduct a survey to identify the roads which needed repair.

He said the reconstruction of the roads would be started in a month or two.

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2017