RAWALPINDI:
The Rawalpindi Ring Road project, which has faced prolonged delays and repeated controversies, is once again mired in uncertainty over whether it will be inaugurated on August 14, despite the completion of the main route, following a fresh controversy over the no-objection certificate (NOC) for its service area.
The controversy over the ring road has, for the second time, led to the dismissal of the commissioner, deputy commissioner and other officials from their posts.
According to details, the project was suspended during former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s tenure after changes in its design and widening of the route triggered a controversy that also resulted in the dismissal of several administrative officials. Since then, the Punjab government has given six deadlines to complete the project.
Following the visit of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, the first deadline was December 30, 2025, followed by March 30, 2026, May 30, June 15 and the target of inaugurating and operationalizing the route between June 18 and 22. None of these deadlines were met.
The sixth deadline, August 14, was set after construction of the route from Banth Interchange to a direct motorway link, excluding Thalian Interchange, was completed, while work continues on eight toll plazas and 16 toll booths.
However, a fresh controversy over the NOC for a 102 kanal and 14 marla service area being developed on both sides of the Ring Road has once again created uncertainty over the planned inauguration.
Meanwhile, a division bench of the Lahore High Court stayed a single bench order confirming the NOC and fixed July 16 for the next hearing.
It is pertinent to mention that following the controversy, former commissioner engineer Abdul Aamer Khattak, deputy commissioner Waqar Hassan Cheema, former director general of GDR and current director general of Abad department Kunza Murtaza, along with two other officers, were removed from their posts and transferred to S&GAD.
Newly appointed commissioner Salman Ghani, deputy commissioner Nadeem Nasir and director general of Abad department Rao Atif Raza have assumed their posts.
