RAWALPINDI: Punjab Law Minister Mohammad Basharat Raja on Friday announced that the government had decided to divide Rawalpindi into three tehsils — city, cantonment and Saddar.

Addressing a public meeting in Dhamial, the minister said the PTI-led Punjab government wanted to provide maximum facilities to the people of the garrison city and for this purpose it had decided to divide Rawalpindi subdivision into three parts aimed at better administration. The citizens would get basic civic facilities at their doorsteps, he added.

It may be mentioned here that Rawalpindi district comprises seven tehsils - Rawalpindi, Gujar Khan, Taxila, Murree, Kahuta, Kallar Syedan and Kotli Sattian.

During the tenure of military ruler Pervez Musharraf in 2001, the city was divided into Potohar and Rawal towns.

However, in 2013, the PML-N government discontinued the two-town system and gave a special status to Murree, making it a municipal corporation.

Says creation of city, cantonment and Saddar tehsils to ensure provision of facilities to residents at doorsteps; projects worth Rs850m inaugurated

Meanwhile, speaking at the public meeting, the provincial minister said in the last three years the Punjab government had launched Rs130 billion worth of development projects to improve infrastructure and civic facilities in Rawalpindi.

“Public service is our politics. Difficult times have passed and now people will see the trickle-down effects of the tough economic decisions,” he said.

Basharat Raja said Prime Minister Imran Khan and Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar were fighting the corruption mafia.

“Now the corruption mafia and the opposition parties are trying to hide their failures by holding rallies against inflation and price hikes,” he added.

The minister said he launched various development projects for the people of his constituency and got them completed.

The PTI government has always given importance to serving the people and protecting their interests and did not hide anything from them.

It conducted politics in a dignified manner and on the basis of truth and honesty, he said, adding that his political office and residence, Dhamial House, was a symbol of service politics and its doors were open to the people 24 hours a day.

The provincial minister said development schemes had been launched so that residents would get all the basic facilities without any difficulty.

Mr Raja also inaugurated several projects costing over Rs850 million on the occasion.

These include construction of a road from Biscuit Factory Chowk to Lane 15 costing Rs50 million, rehabilitation of road from Harley Street to Qasim Base as well as footpaths, construction of two roads from Dhamial Mor to Lane No 5, construction of streets and laying of sewerage system in Ward No 6, streets and sewerage system in Ahmadabad, construction of streets at Quaid-i-Azam Colony and a water filtration plant in Ghaziabad.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2021