RAWALPINDI:
The Rawalpindi Ring Road project, which has faced prolonged delays and repeated controversies, is once again shrouded 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 ring road dispute has for the second time led to the commissioner, deputy commissioner and other officials being removed from their posts.
According to details, the project was suspended during former prime minister Imran Khan’s tenure after changes in its design and route expansion sparked a controversy that also resulted in the removal of several administrative officials. Since then, the Punjab government has set six deadlines to complete the project.
After Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s visit, the first deadline was 30 December 2025, followed by 30 March 2026, 30 May, 15 June and a target to inaugurate and make the route functional between 18 June and 22 June. None of these deadlines were met.
The sixth deadline of August 14 was set after the construction of the route from Banth Interchange to a direct expressway link, excluding Thalian Interchange, was completed, while work on eight toll plazas and 16 toll plazas continues.
However, a fresh controversy over the NOC for a 102-kanal, 14-marla service area being developed on both sides of the Ring Road has again created uncertainty over the planned inauguration.
Meanwhile, a division bench of the Lahore High Court has suspended the single court’s order to uphold the NOC and fixed July 16 for the next hearing.
It is pertinent to mention that after the controversy, former Commissioner Engineer Abdul Aamer Khattak, Deputy Commissioner Waqar Hassan Cheema, former RDA DG and the incumbent Director General of Abad 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 Division Rao Atif Raza have taken charge.
