Latest news with #RawalpindiDistrictCouncil
Express Tribune
07-03-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Govt quietly defers key uplift projects
The Punjab government has postponed six mega infrastructure projects in Rawalpindi for the upcoming fiscal year due to severe financial constraints and a 40-60 per cent shortfall in tax recoveries across relevant departments. The delayed projects include the Leh Expressway, a sewage treatment plant, the Rawalpindi Ring Road, the Chahan Dam water supply scheme, Daducha Dam, and the Ghazi Barotha Dam project. Additionally, new development schemes under the Rawalpindi District Council and the Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation have been put on hold, with no funds allocated until at least June 30, 2025. As a result of the delays and rising construction material costscement, steel, sand, and gravel have surged by 30-40 per centthe estimated costs of these projects have skyrocketed. The Leh Expressway's initial budget of Rs17 billion has now inflated to Rs80-85 billion, while the sewage treatment plant's cost has doubled from Rs30 billion to Rs60 billion. Similarly, the Chahan Dam water supply project has risen from Rs6.5 billion to Rs8 billion, and the Ghazi Barotha Dam project has become unfeasible due to an additional Rs100 billion in estimated costs. The Punjab government has revised the completion timeline for the Rawalpindi Ring Road project four times within a year, pushing it to the first half of the 2025-26 fiscal year, with a potential further delay to 2026. Meanwhile, no funds have been allocated to the Rawalpindi District Council and the Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation for any major projects until at least June 30. However, the government is expected to release funds to Punjab Assembly and National Assembly members within the next two months, with a final decision set to be made after Eid. Authorities have also issued strict warnings to tax-collecting agencies to meet their targets, instructing them to intensify field operations. District Coordination Committee convener and MNA Engineer Qamarul Islam has assured that major projects like the Adiala Road expansion, Khawaja Corporation underpass, and Mall Road underpasses will be completed within the next three months. He also promised accelerated work on the Rawalpindi Ring Road after Eid, claiming that development projects worth Rs1 billion are currently underway in Rawalpindi, ushering in a "green revolution" of progress in the district.
Express Tribune
28-01-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Punjab seeks local bodies' uplift budget details
RAWALPINDI: With only five months left in the current fiscal year, the Punjab government has asked all local bodies, including the Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC) and Rawalpindi District Council, to submit details of their development budgets. According to sources, the chief minister's secretariat will issue guidelines for initiating development projects in consultation with public representatives. All development budgets must be utilised by June 30, 2025, they said. Sources also said the administrative and financial control of local bodies in Punjab currently rests with the bureaucracy due to the absence of local government elections. Meanwhile, members of the national and provincial assemblies have been utilising separate funds from the federal and Punjab governments for development projects in their constituencies. Consequently, local bodies have been directed to submit details of their allocated development budgets for the current fiscal year. Based on this data, comprehensive guidelines for initiating development schemes in collaboration with lawmakers will be issued across Punjab. The municipal corporation has already submitted details of its development budget through the commissioner of Rawalpindi and the administrator of the municipal corporation. These reports reveal that the corporation has development funds amounting to Rs3.87 billion. These funds are earmarked for maintenance, repair, and restoration projects as per the planning. However, with the fiscal year that began on July 1, 2024, nearing its end on June 30, 2025, only five months remain to utilise these funds. The Rawalpindi district includes several local bodies, such as the RMC, district council, and municipal committees in the six tehsils of Rawalpindi City, Rawalpindi Cantonment, Kahuta, Kallar Syedan, Gujar Khan, and Taxila. Following Murree's elevation to district status, its municipal matters are now managed by the Murree Municipal Corporation, while Kotli Sattian operates under a municipal committee. Sources indicate that in the first seven months of the fiscal year, due to the lack of clear guidelines from the competent authorities, most local bodies in the Rawalpindi district have only undertaken minor maintenance and repair work within their controlled areas. Major development projects have been carried out using grants obtained by members of the national and provincial assemblies from federal and provincial governments.
