RAWALPINDI: The district administration has proposed two sites for a new central jail in Rawalpindi, as the government will begin working on the project in the next fiscal year.

Punjab prisons department and district administration officials, led by Assistant Commissioner Saddar Ahmed Hassan Ranjha, visited both sites on Sunday.

The Punjab government is looking to procure more than 600 kanals of land to build a new jail in Rawalpindi district, as Central Jail Adiala does not meet inmate requirements.

A senior district administration official told Dawn the provincial government is looking to build another prison because Adiala jail is more than 6,000 inmates over capacity.

There is no prison in Islamabad, he added, and the number of inmates in the central jail has been increasing rapidly. He said construction would begin after land procurement in the next fiscal year.

The official said the prisons department had chosen a site in Jharki but the district administration has also suggested land in Kalri. Both areas are off the Chak Beli Khan Road.

He said the government allocated Rs130 million for the procurement of land for the jail in the last fiscal year. A site will be selected in the next month so the government can allocate money for its acquisition once more.

The prison department will present the Punjab cabinet with two options for final approval, after which land acquisition will begin. The district administration has been asked to send details of villages and area surveys to the provincial government for both sites as soon as possible.

When contacted, Mr Ranjha told Dawn the prisons department chose on Chak Beli Khan Road, but were informed that there may be issues with the land.

He said the land in Jharki was agricultural, which may cause problems for people. He added that the prisons department has proposed another site for the jail.

The provincial government and prisons department will make the final decision, he added. He said the district administration has given the department all the details.

The district administration has also informed the federal government of 508 kanals of land near Chaklala for a housing project.

Mr Ranjha said that the previous provincial government recovered 1,008 kanals of land, of which the former interior minister used 500 kanals for a park, community hall and graveyard in NA-52. The remaining was available for a housing project.

He said the district administration has given the federal government the details in this regard, and if the government agrees the administration will remove encroachments on the land as soon as possible.

Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2019