The Punjab government has failed to complete the construction of signal free corridors at Jail Road and Main Boulevard by the stipulated deadline while the cost of the project has also ballooned to Rs 2 billion from the earlier estimate of Rs 1.3 billion as another flyover has been added to the project, Pakistan Today has learnt.
The project was started on March 1 earlier this year with a plan to be completed within four months. The construction was at full steam when the Lahore High Court (LHC) restrained the Punjab government from executing the project on the petition of a non-government organization (NGO) “Lahore Bachao Tehreek”.
The LHC in its verdict ruled that the local government was the only competent authority to initiate such development projects and since there was no local government present in the province, the project could not be executed. The Punjab government then decided to move the Supreme Court (SC) and challenged the LHC ruling. The SC in its judgment set aside the order of LHC and gave a go ahead to the project.
The construction work restarted in July after the ruling of the Supreme Court and was scheduled to be completed by October 31.
The development work is being carried out by a private construction company, Habib Construction Services (HCS), under the patronage of Lahore Development Authority (LDA) and its subsidiary Traffic Engineering and Transport Planning Agency (TEPA). HCS’s Chief Surveyor Irfan Majeed told Pakistan Today that his construction company would complete the project in the next two months. He said that a flyover had been added in the project, which would start from Main Boulevard and would lead towards Lahore Cantonment passing from the Jail Road. He added that the original shape of the Liberty roundabout would also be changed according to the new plan.
An assistant director (AD) of LDA, who did not want to be named, told Pakistan Today that the project would formally be inaugurated at the end of November. “Common people do not know the technicalities of civil engineering and therefore they criticise the delay in the project,” he said. “When the soil is dug up certain complexities emerge and that can be a factor in the delay of the project,” he continued.
A source associated with the project told Pakistan Today that Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) initially refused to allow construction of a flyover because of some sensitive gas lines but acquiesced at a later stage.
As part of the project, Main Boulevard will be remodeled from Liberty roundabout to Fawara Chowk. Moreover, the reconstruction of Jail Road from Sherpao Bridge to Qartaba Chowk and construction of two underpasses are also part of the project. The overall length of the project is 7.6 km which includes two underpasses of 535 and 630 meters and the Jail Road will become signal-free for a length of about seven signals after completion of the project.
LDA Chief Engineer Israr Saeed Khan confirmed to Pakistan Today that the cost of the project had been increased to Rs 2 billion. He said that the underpasses will be completed in 15 to 20 days but the flyover will be inaugurated in December because there is much work still to be done. “The flyover will start from Liberty roundabout and the commuters will get on the Jail Road through it. The project will be ready for the inauguration within a few days except for the flyover,” the chief engineer said.
The names of the Supreme Court Judges who overruled Lahore High Court ruling, must be made public. No wonder the cost has escalated too!!!!
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