Dual carriageway project: TEPA awaits govt, syndicate approval

[Naveed Yaseen]

* Chief engineer says committee looking into modalities
* PU revenue officer says committee to furnish recommendations soon

By Mansab Dogar

LAHORE: The Traffic Engineering and Planning Agency (TEPA) is awaiting approval from the government and the Punjab University Syndicate to start construction on a two-kilometre-long, 36-foot wide dual carriageway that would link Maulana Shaukat Ali Road to Karim Block of Allama Iqbal Town.

According to the plans, the road would start from Shah Di Khui on Canal Bank Road and connect to Wahdat Road near Karim Block, passing through lands owned by the Punjab University. The approximate cost of the project has been estimated at Rs 600 million.

TEPA Chief Engineer Khushhal Khan Khattak told Daily Times on Sunday that the PC-I form had been submitted to the government in May 2008. He said that the agency was now awaiting formal approval of the project. The construction required on land belonging to the Punjab University requires approval from the University Syndicate, he added.

Committee: Khattak said that a committee headed by former Punjab chief secretary Pervez Masood, and comprising PU Syndicate members, had already been constituted to examine the land use issue.

According to PU bylaws, land owned by the university cannot be used for commercial purposes, nor can it be leased out to any other agency or institutions for purposes other than educational.

However, Khattak said that the university’s bylaws allowed using the institute’s land for public welfare projects. He said that the construction of the road fell into this category and TEPA was awaiting approval of the committee on the modalities of using the land.

Addressing the need for the project, Khattak said that the PU had no direct access to its new campus at the moment. The construction of the new road would provide easy access to the university’s visitors, including staff and students, he added. The proposed road would also end the perennial traffic jams on the Canal Road alongside the university, he added. The road would also reduce the overall burden on the Canal Bank Road in the wake of the inordinate delay in the Canal Road widening project, he said.

Soon: A revenue officer to the PU, Malik Zaheer Ahmed, said that the committee formed by the government to provide the modalities of the use of the land would furnish its recommendations soon.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...008_pg13_5