District Rawalpindi

The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) has handed over an apartment in Rawalpindi to provide accommodation for minority students. Located on Seventh Road, the apartment will house 12 students, who will receive free accommodation and all essential facilities, according to the board. ETPB Secretary Nasir Mushtaq handed over the keys to the students on the instructions of Chairman Qamar-uz-Zaman. Rawalpindi Administrator Yasir Asghar Monga was also present. Mushtaq said the initiative aims to ease the housing difficulties students face during their studies and give them a better environment in which to focus on their education. The board said the welfare of minority communities, educational development and provision of basic facilities were among its priorities. The Ministry of Religious Affairs says the ETPB was established in 1960 to oversee evacuee properties linked to religious, charitable and educational trusts. The board had earlier approved Rs 5 million for the Baba Guru Nanak Scholarship Programme for Hindu and Sikh students. Under the programme, eligible students receive a monthly scholarship of Rs 10,000, according to the board.

The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) is stepping up enforcement against illegal housing schemes, issuing final notices to non-compliant projects and preparing to seek the disconnection of their electricity and gas supplies. The RDA’s Metropolitan Planning and Traffic Engineering Directorate has developed the enforcement strategy in coordination with its Enforcement Squad, according to official sources. The plan targets unauthorized residential developments operating without approved layouts and required clearance certificates. Under the proposed action, the authority will write to the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), recommending that utility connections to illegal schemes be disconnected. The RDA has also instructed developers, builders and housing scheme managements to register on its Housing Scheme Management System (HSMS) portal within the stipulated timeframe. Those who fail to comply could face legal proceedings, the sealing of site offices and the demolition of unauthorized structures. The authority plans to issue public notices warning citizens against investing in unapproved housing projects. It has urged prospective buyers to verify a scheme’s legal status through the RDA’s official website before purchasing residential or commercial property.

The opening of Rawalpindi Ring Road to traffic has been delayed by at least another month as construction continues on toll plazas and weighing stations, according to a senior district administration official. The official said the provincial government would announce an inauguration date after the remaining facilities were completed. The work could take a month or longer, as construction and installation are still under way and procurement of weighing equipment has not been completed. Authorities plan to establish eight weighing stations to measure heavy vehicles and calculate their toll charges. Construction is expected to take two to three weeks, after which teams will install the weighing machines. The Punjab Ring Road Authority will then need about two weeks to install the Intelligent Transportation System and Electronic Toll Collection system. Sensors will weigh trucks and determine the toll payable. Toll plaza booths are also being built at Baanth and Thalian. The official said the road would open to both heavy and light traffic once the facilities became operational. Offices for the Punjab Ring Road Authority and residential accommodation for its officials are also being established. Work on the Thalian interchange is expected to start after the road opens, with completion targeted for December, the official said. The Ring Road has a design speed of 120 kilometres per hour, six lanes, controlled access, five interchanges and a 90-metre right of way. Its infrastructure includes bridges over the Soan and Sill rivers, 12 bridges across nullahs and roads, a railway bridge near Baanth and 11 overpasses. The project’s original plan, developed during the PTI government, envisaged a 68-kilometre route. Work was halted following a financial scandal, after which authorities approved a revised 38.3-kilometre alignment from Baanth to Thalian. Then-prime minister Imran Khan laid the project’s foundation stone in March 2022. The Pakistan Democratic Movement government later suspended the project temporarily, then authorized work after a third-party validation of the revised route. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif laid the foundation stone at Rawat on August 8, 2023.