According to a survey conducted by Dawn, the fate of several major hospital projects, including the Trauma Centre at Toba in Jhelum district, a 50-bed hospital at Jorian, and a 50-bed Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) Hospital for Potohar Town near Rawat, remains in limbo.
In addition, the construction of several colleges in Gujar Khan has also suffered repeated delays.
The construction of the Trauma Centre at Toba, located near the Lillah Interchange of the Lahore–Islamabad Motorway (M-2) in Jhelum district, was started in 2021–22 and was expected to be completed within two years. However, according to sources in the health department, work was hampered due to inadequate or delayed release of funds in subsequent fiscal years.
Malik Zaheer Awan, a journalist from Toba town in Pind Dadan Khan tehsil, told Dawn that the 30-bed Trauma Centre was desperately needed to treat accident victims, which are common in the Salt Range region.
The incomplete building of the trauma centre Toba near Lillah Interchange on M-2.
He added that the population living in the southern parts of Jhelum district was deprived of basic amenities such as health facilities, road infrastructure, transport, and even clean drinking water.
“They are literally living in the stone age,” he remarked. The delay in the project, he said, had caused deep frustration in the community, while the national exchequer was burdened with an escalation of construction costs amounting to millions of rupees.
Malik Naveed Awan, a resident of Kaliam Awan and an active journalist from the Gujar Khan–Rawat area, pointed out that the residents of Rawat and commuters along the Grand Trunk (GT) Road were anxiously waiting for the completion of the 50-bed THQ Hospital in Potohar Town.
The academic block of Govt Higher Secondary School for Boys at Changa Bangial has been in this state since 2016.
The building, he said, was already complete with its revenue component fully purchased, yet the facility remained non-operational. He also noted that another 50-bed hospital in the Jorian area of Chak Beli Khan was nearing completion, but villagers from remote parts of Rawalpindi and Gujar Khan tehsil were still deprived of the promised health services.
Officials at the Provincial Building Department confirmed that these projects were structurally complete and ready to become operational. However, sources in the health department, requesting anonymity, disclosed that the THQ Hospital in Rawat faced a major issue. The land selected for its construction had no sub-soil water.
Without water, smooth functioning of the hospital was impossible unless an alternative supply source was secured. The same sources revealed that the Jorian hospital was nearly 90 per cent complete, with most of its equipment purchased and stored in different hospitals. But the issue of acquiring land adjacent to the site had created hurdles, delaying its inauguration.
When contacted, Superintending Engineer of the Provincial Building Department, Imran Ali, confirmed that the lack of water was indeed a serious issue as the water table had fallen further in the area. However, he said efforts were underway to resolve the problem.
The GCW Changa Bangial awaits completion for want of funds.
Regarding the Jorian hospital, he stated that the matter had already been brought to the notice of higher authorities.
Meanwhile, the under-construction multipurpose hall at Government College Kallar Syedan stands as what residents describe as a “living example of neglect and inertia.” According to locals, the scheme dates back to the era of General Ziaul Haq.
Journalist Ikramul Haq Qureshi told Dawn that construction began in 1981–82, when Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Raja Zafarul Haq dominated regional politics. After a few initial steps—erecting walls and placing girders—the contractor abandoned the project, and it was never pursued again.
The almost complete building of Jorian health centre near Chak Beli has yet to become functional as its right of way issue remains unresolved.
“Even today, nobody in the education or building departments knows about its track or file record,” he said. “It stands like a monument of unfinished business from the Zia regime.”
The construction of Government College for Women (GCW) Mandra also tells a story of neglect. The project began in 2014–15, but with a change of government, it was left unfunded. After a decade-long delay, MPA Raja Shaukat Aziz Bhatti managed to secure funding and expressed hope that it would finally be completed. Notably, the revenue component for this project was fully purchased in 2018–19 but had been left unused since then.
Residents of Mandra, Kaliam, Sangori, Banth, and Noor Dolaal areas of the tehsil have been waiting for years for the inauguration of the college, located on GT Road.
Superintending Engineer Imran Ali confirmed that the requisite funds have now been released and that the remaining cosmetic work will be completed once formalities are fulfilled.
The ‘abandoned’ project of the auditorium at Govt Boys College, Kallar Syedan, has been awaiting attention of relevant authorities since 1982. — Photos by the writer
He also said that funds for the completion of GCW Changa Bangial in Gujar Khan had been allocated, and equipment had already been procured by the education department.
It is evident that delays and suspension of funding for public schemes not only deprive taxpayers of essential facilities but also cost the national exchequer heavily due to rising construction expenses.