Communication & Works (C&W) Department, Government of the Punjab – Pakistan in its current form is a result of evolution spanning more than one and a half century. Its roots are traced back to 1849 when a ‘Military Board’ was created under Local Government in the Indian subcontinent to execute public works in the territories of Punjab (eastern & western), the North-Western Frontier Province (NWFP) currently known as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and the adjoining areas. In 1854, the Public Works Department (PWD) was established and all civil, military and public engineering works were placed under it with Lord Robert Napier as its first Chief Engineer. Later on, Public Works Departments were established in all the provinces and were placed under one central control. Keeping in view the increased necessity of public works, three branches were established in 1866 i.e., Military Works branch, the Civil Works branch including Irrigation and Railways branch. This administrative arrangement was modified in 1869 and a separate Buildings & Roads (B&R) branch was created. In 1914, the post of consulting Architect was created in it. To meet the ever-increasing demand for civil works i.e., Canals, Public Health, Sanitation & Water Supply, various sub-offices at Circle and Division level were created.
After independence in 1947, the B&R Department was placed under the control of one Chief Engineer and Secretary to the Government to deal with all the matters regarding communications (roads), buildings, sanitation, water works, and electrification of government buildings. In 1962, all the Government Departments were administratively reorganized and the Communication & Works (C&W) Department of the Government of West Pakistan came into being, with attached departments of B&R and Town Planning placed under its administrative control. The Post of Provincial Chief Engineer, B&R was abolished and replaced by five Chief Engineers with full technical powers, each in charge of the respective region.
After the promulgation of the Punjab Local Government Ordinance – 2001, a devolution plan was implemented in Punjab resulting in the bifurcation of the C&W Department into Provincial and District setups. The post of Chief Engineer, Punjab District Support & Monitoring (DSM) Department was created under C&W department to undertake building & road projects at the district level. Whereas, existing posts of Chief Engineers continued working on provincial building & road projects. In 2017, the DSM Department was abolished and the District setup was merged back into the Provincial C&W Department. In 2021, the C&W Department was restructured and three zones (central, north & south) were created in Punjab for Chief Engineers of highways and buildings. Moreover, attached departments of Special Initiatives, Planning & Design, Research & Design, and Monitoring & Evaluation were created.
Source: "The Public Works Department" by Nivedita Nath (University of California Los Angeles, USA)