IHC grants one month for funds to complete Bhong Interchange project

ISLAMABAD, Oct 09 (APP): The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday granted the Ministry of Planning and the Ministry of Finance one month to arrange funds for the construction of Bhong Interchange on the Multan-Sukkur Motorway in accordance with a Supreme Court judgment.

Justice Muhammad Asif was hearing a petition filed by Rais Munir. Advocate Waqar Rana appeared on behalf of the petitioner, while Assistant Attorney General Shaista Tabassum represented the federal government.

During the hearing, officials of the Ministry of Planning informed the court that Rs100 million had been released following its previous order, requesting more time for the remaining funds and proposing their release by the second quarter.

The petitioner’s counsel argued that the project still required Rs1.7 billion, urging the authorities to at least release payments to the contractor, who had already carried out work worth Rs350 million from his own resources.

“The contractor must be paid, otherwise, how will work on the project proceed, the court remarked.

Advocate Waqar Rana argued that waiting until the second quarter could cause a further delay of three months, adding that a year had already passed. He said the project should have been completed in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directions and that the authorities had repeatedly failed to meet their commitments.

The Additional Secretary for Planning assured the court that approval would be granted within 15 days.

The court accepted the assistant attorney general’s request for additional time, directed the relevant authorities to arrange the required funds within one month and adjourned the hearing until next month.