RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has asked the private consultant to complete the demarcation of the boundaries of the district for preparation of the master plan which will help in construction and development activities in its four tehsils.

For the last three years, the civic body has worked to prepare the master plan but without any success so far.

“The slow pace of work on preparation of the master plan allowed developers of private housing societies to carry out construction activities in their respective areas without any hurdle,” said a senior official of the RDA while talking to Dawn on Sunday.

He said the RDA failed to regulate private housing societies and due to its indifference the developers finalised their projects without fulfilling the required formalities.

Mostly, housing schemes have failed to allocate space for schools, colleges, parks, mosques and graveyards. He said that in the absence of graveyards in new housing schemes, the burden shifted on the existing graveyards in the garrison city.

He said that under the law private housing schemes have to install sewage treatment plants, water purification systems and ensure regular supply of water, but there was no housing scheme which fulfilled these requirements.

Meanwhile, RDA spokesman Mohammad Irfan claimed that recommendations had been prepared for the master plan and would be presented to the governing body of the civic agency in its next meeting.

He said RDA Director General Saif Anwar Jappa held a meeting regarding the preparation of the master plan for the four tehsil headquarters s few days ago.

He said that the consultant from Mott MacDonald Pakistan (MMP) company gave a detailed presentation about the master plan at the meeting. The consultant discussed the large-scale work on the preparation of regional development plans for the tehsils of Gujar Khan, Taxila, Kallar Syedan and Kahuta and shared the date with the respective local governments.

He said that the RDA town planners suggested that the master plan could be examined by them before submission to the RDA governing body for approval. He said that the RDA director general had directed that more work should be done on the master llan.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2022