RAWALPINDI: The district administration and Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) have started demarcation of land which is to be acquired for the Leh Expressway and Flood Channel project.

A senior official of the RDA told Dawn that a joint team of District Land Revenue Department and RDA’s land and engineering branches had been formed which started work to mark land to be acquired for the project.

He said Leh Nullah was divided into city and cantonment areas and the team would complete demarcation of cantonment land in the first phase. He said in the second phase, the team would identify land in the jurisdiction of Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation.

“Rawalpindi Municipal Waste Company transfer station in Liaquat Bagh will also be affected due to the project and it would be relocated,” he said, adding the RDA had asked all civic bodies to calculate estimates and send them to it.

Cantonment land to be marked in first phase, RDA official says

He said under the law, cantonment boards of Rawalpindi and Chaklala would inform about structures in their areas and get approval from Military Lands and Cantonments about the military land.

He said the provincial government would pay the price of structures only on leased property in cantonment areas while land price would be paid to private landowners along the Leh Nullah.

On the other hand, RDA asked Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) to shift its supply lines and tubewells along Leh Nullah and after demarcation of land Wasa would start a survey of the area.

He said Wasa had installed more than two dozen tubewells along Leh Nullah from New Kattarian to Lahore High Court Rawalpindi bench building near Soan River, adding it would get time and money from the government and after installation of new tubewells supply lines will be relocated.

Another official of RDA said after demarcation of land, the civic bodies would submit details of land price and government structures; the district administration will then verify it from land records after which it would become part of the PC-I.

He said the price committee would also fix rates of land along the nullah and would inform people about the rates in different areas.

He added that the process would be completed in a month and then the land acquisition process would be started. Private landowners would also be contacted and in this regard RDA already has sent notices to house owners along the nullah.

When contacted, RDA Director Anwar Baran said the final assessment would be done after completion of demarcation.

Published in Dawn, November 29th, 2021