ISLAMABAD: On Thursday, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) summoned Noorul Amin Mengal, the chairman of the Capital Development Authority (CDA), to discuss the cracks that appeared on the newly constructed Margalla Road.
PAC Chairman Noor Alam Khan expressed urgency regarding the matter and demanded an explanation for the cracks.
He also called for the immediate halt of payments to the contractors, whether it be the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) or the National Logistics Cell (NLC).
On Wednesday at the Parliament Building, they discussed the audit report of the Ministry of Industries and Production, which raised the issue.
The Margalla Road, which runs from GT Road to D-12 and has a 700-meter portion of the road still awaiting completion, is open to traffic but has yet to be formally inaugurated.
Mr. Khan pointed out that cracks had appeared on both sides of the road near the Shah Allah Ditta underpass, which raises concerns about the quality of the construction work.
CDA’s Member Engineering
According to CDA’s Member Engineering, Syed Munawar Shah, cracks in newly built roads are common, and the road is still unfinished.
He added that they opened the road to facilitate the public, but they have not officially handed it over yet.
They will fix the cracks within a few days, and only a small patch requires rework.
He stated that except for this minor issue, the entire road is state-of-the-art.
The chairman of CDA had recently visited the site and directed the contractor to resolve the problem.
However, Mr. Khan noted that the presence of cracks in the newly constructed Margalla Road indicates a lack of quality in the work.
The CDA is executing the project through the National Logistics Cell (NLC) contractor, and the project is worth around Rs 3.9 billion.
It includes an interchange at E-11 and five culverts, with an expected completion time of six months.
Meanwhile, Member of National Assembly (MNA) Wajiha Qamar has also called for an explanation from the CDA chairman regarding the rise in encroachments throughout the federal capital, particularly in markets.
The committee asked why the authorities removed seating arrangements outside restaurants one day, but a few days later, they observed chairs blocking public access areas on the sidewalks again.
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