No govt official involved corruption in CPEC’s R3 project: Additional Commissioner Coordination

Rawalpindi: No government official was involved in any corruption in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)’s Rawalpindi Ring Road (R3) project, Additional Commissioner, Coordination (ACC) Rawalpindi Jahangir Ahmed said.

Ahmed, who was part of a three-member fact-finding committee on the R3 project, has, in his statement, found no embezzlement at the administration level in the project.

All the three members of the inquiry committee – newly appointed Rawalpindi Commissioner Gulzar Shah, the transferred deputy commissioner Muhammad Mahmood and the ACC – have also submitted their separate reports.

Gulzar Shah, who headed the forum, has in his findings accused his predecessor, Muhammad Mahmood, of massive corruption, a charge the latter denied.

In his statement, the ACC answered all the nine questions put to the fact-finding committee by the Punjab government through a notification that had established the body.

Jahangir Ahmed wrote that no evidence has come to light about the involvement of public functionaries. However, a windfall effect and rent-seeking by a large number of estate players was there due to the fact that the R3 alignment was made public after the approval of the project.

The ACC said the secretary of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) board told the inquiry committee that no agreement was reached between the CDA, the Project Management Unit (PMU).

The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) director general committed during the CDA board meeting on November 6, 2020 that a new summary will be submitted to the CDA board.

National Highway Authority (NHA) Member Naveed Wahla informed the committee that no agreement/commitment was reached by the NHA and RDA on the axle overload regime. However, negotiations and an unsigned agreement were being discussed jointly.

Jahangir Ahmed said local access was provided on all the interchanges throughout the R3 not on Paswal alone. The question was that there are serious concerns as to the mechanism adopted to allow local access for the R3 through design amendments particularly in the Attock loop and Paswal zigzag.

The ACC wrote that due to the issuance of a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and in the wake of existing market hype, a housing project, Nova City, sold the registration of around 20,000 files as per the statement of Assistant Commissioner, Fatehjang, which is over and above the land for which it was granted the NOC and approval.

Jahangir Ahmed said that the R3 alignment of 2017, done by NESPAK, was a study which was subsequently approved by the Punjab provincial government. But importantly, the project was to be built on a loan basis from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which approved the concept paper and asked to constitute the programme monitoring and implementation unit (PMIU), detailed feasibility design including Environmental Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and resettlement plan.

Jahangir Ahmed said Zeeruk International started its feasibility as per the changed scope which is questionable. But the NHA Member when asked stated that the NHA did not permit travel on the M2 therefore they can proceed from N5 to N5. Initially, Zeeruk International proposed an alignment which was passing through the upper side of the CPEC route. The Strategic Planning Division (SPD) rejected the alignment and stated that they have sensitive installations so they can’t allow this alignment. The SPD guided them to stay on the other side of the CPEC route. The NHA was contacted again to tug in this R3 in existing right of way (ROW) of CPEC route. The NHA allowed the use of their CPEC route for R3.

However, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister Punjab Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, said Rawalpindi Ring Road corruption scandal case was being forwarded to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and disciplinary action including suspension from service had also been initiated against the senior officers involved in the scam.

“All those including any one from the incumbent government, opposition and a few bureaucrats are being brought before the court of law to ensure justice”, she said.

The Special Assistant said that NAB would inquire about the alleged illegal expenditure of Rs 2.3 billion by the former Commissioner Rawalpindi Mehmood Ahmed, who is accused of acquiring the land which caused increase in the prices of real estate owned by the influential people.