ISLAMABAD: The Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) and Capital Development Authority (CDA), which have been involved in a land dispute on the boundary between the twin cities, appear to have been somewhat convinced on Tuesday that a disputed portion of Rawalpindi’s land falls within Islamabad’s limits.

During a meeting at the CDA’s Member Planning and Design office attended by representatives of the RCB and Military Lands and Cantonments (ML&C), sources said it transpired that a certain portion of Rawalpindi at the border of the city, alongside I.J. Principal Road and Golra Mor, currently falls within the limits of Islamabad.

The CDA member planning Asad Mehboob Kayani and master plan director Zafar Iqbal Zafar argued the CDA’s case, but sources said that after examining a map issued by Survey of Pakistan they accepted that a portion of the disputed area actually falls within the RCB’s limits.

A source said that in maps shown by officials of the RCB and ML&C, an area that currently falls within the jurisdiction of Islamabad’s Noon police station and a portion of the Jhangi Syedan union council seems to be a part of Rawalpindi.

The source said the actual volume of land has yet to be determined as both the parties have decided to hold more meetings on the matter.

The source said that during the meeting, the RCB officials told the CDA that two important army installations: the EME College and the CMT depot are also located in the area, which is evidence that it falls in their jurisdiction.

The land dispute surfaced when residents of the area along I.J. Principal Road, who live in ward 10 of NA-54, refused to pay taxes to the RCB because their land was registered with Islamabad’s authorities.

A senior CDA official said Islamabad’s boundary is not determined in Jhangi Syedan, Golra Mor and the adjoining areas, which is why the matter arose. He said currently, local residents are not paying taxes to the RCB and neither the CDA nor the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) is implementing their bylaws.

A source said both CDA and RCB have also had issues regarding the limits of Islamabad’s residential sectors H-13, G-13, G-14 and I-14. He said during the ongoing series of meetings, if the RCB makes its case, the CDA will have to make changes to its master plan.

CDA Member Planning Asad Mehboob Kayani told Dawn that RCB and ML&C representatives said a portion of Islamabad’s land falls within the RCB’s limits based on a map from the Survey of Pakistan. He said they would hold more meetings to “decide this matter amicably”.

Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2017