RAWALPINDI: The caretaker Punjab government is set to resume work on the construction of Daducha Dam with an escalated cost of Rs10 billion as the Small Dam Organisation of the Irrigation Department has recently sent a revised PC-1 (Project Concept-1) to the Planning and Development Department for a final approval.

Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chatha is hopeful of getting the approval shortly, stating that they can start the work on the project by the end of this month.

The dam is being constructed on the upstream of Soan River to collect rainwater from Murree and Kahuta hills in a lake at Daducha village near Sihala on Kahuta Road. It is believed that after completion of the project in two-year time, the dam will help resolve the issue of water shortage in Rawalpindi as it will provide 35 million gallons daily (MGD) to the residents of garrison city.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Chatha confirmed that the cost of the project had now increased from Rs6.4 billion to Rs10 billion due to escalation in the prices of construction material during the last three years.

Project cost escalated to Rs10bn

Providing background information, the commissioner said the land for the dam project had been acquired in 2010 and the construction work started in 2018.

“However, the work on the project has been on a halt since 2021 due to litigation by the land owners over the price issue,” he added. According to him, the earthwork and excavation for spillway structure had almost been done when the Lahore High Court (LHC) stayed the project.

Later, he said, the irrigation department approached the Supreme Court against the LHC’s decision. The Supreme Court, he said, had reserved the judgment in February 2022 and it was announced on September 11, 2023.

Mr Chatha said the land owners had filed the petition in the LHC in February 2021 asking it to set aside all the notifications of land acquisition of 2010. In the light of the SC decision, he said, the caretaker government had decided to give money to the landowners according to the market price in the year 2018.

“The issue has now been resolved and we are ready to start the work on the dam,” he said, adding that the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), which had been given the contract in 2021 for the construction of the dam, would be asked to continue the work.

At the time of the start of work, it was estimated that Rs3.3 billion would be spent on civil works and Rs2.6 billion for acquiring more than 18,000 kanals. The project was initially to be completed by April 2023.

Now the work will take two years to complete, if it started by end of November. The provincial government had already spent Rs2.582 billion on the project.

Three villages Bhun, Launa and Bhaoni will come under the dam.

As many as 218 houses, seven industrial and commercial units and other areas will be affected in this project. The total storage capacity of the dam will be 60,000 acre feet, dead level storage capacity is 15,000 acre feet while live storage capacity is 45,000 acre feet. The water inflow to the dam is 77,000 cusecs while the outflow is estimated at 42,000 cusecs.

The commissioner termed the project important one to meet the future requirements of the garrison city. He said the ground water level was decreasing in Potohar region with a fast pace and there was a dire need to construct dams for drinking water and for the agriculture purposes. He said the construction of dam will facilitate the maximum population.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2023