Provincial government shelves Sialkot-Lahore Motorway project

SIALKOT – The provincial government has finally shelved the project of establishing the Sialkot-Lahore Motorway due to prolonged non-availability of the funds. The revenue department has lifted the ban imposed on the sale and purchase of the land acquired several years ago for the motorway and has advised the concerned officials to give back the acquired land to its actual owners by getting back the money from them.
A formal official notification has also been issued by the provincial revenue department on the directives of provincial government and after this notification, the project of Sialkot-Lahore Motorway has been completely shelved. The provincial government has also asked the revenue officials in Lahore, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat and Sheikhupura districts to return the acquired lands to their original owners and collect the given amounts from them.
The government had allocated special funds of Rs 5 billion in the fiscal budget of year 2010-2011 for making the payments to these land owners. But these funds could not be released for this project and were being used for the other projects in this regard. The government had spent Rs 300 million on the feasibility of Sialkot-Lahore Motorway project and the provincial government had also expanded this project to Kharian-Gujrat district.
Punjab Public Accounts Committee former chairman Azeem Noori Ghuman said that this project had been politicised by the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) government that shelved it for its political gains neglecting the interests of the industrial sector. Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PML-Q) central leader Chaudhary Ameer Hussain, former provincial minister Muhammad Ajmal Cheema and former Sialkot District Nazim Muhammad Akmal Cheema had alleged that the PML-N provincial government had shelved the Sialkot-Lahore Motorway project for its political interest.
Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) President Ghulam Mustafa said that this abolishing could be a great set back to the national industrial development and growth. He added that this project should be restored and continued in the larger national interest as it would bring an industrial revolution in the entire region.
PIA will start Sialkot-Dammam flight on Feb 3: The Pakistan International Airline (PIA) will start its weekly direct Sialkot-Dammam (Saudi Arabia) flight from February 3 from Sialkot International Airport. PIA District Manager Khalid Hameed said the flight would operate on every Thursday at 7 pm and added that a large number of overseas Pakistanis belonging to Sialkot, Daska, Pasrur, Sambrial, Narowal, Gujranwala and Gujrat districts would benefit from it.