Rawalpindi encroachments: High court to take city officials to task

RCB town heads, DCO to appear today over failure to comply with orders

RAWALPINDI: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday directed several senior Rawalpindi city officials to appear in court over their failure to comply with earlier orders to remove encroachments from parts of the city.

The Rawalpindi District Coordination Officer (DCO), executive officers of cantonment boards, and administrators of Rawal and Potohar Town were directed by Justice Ibadur Rehman Lodhi of LHC’s Rawalpindi bench to appear in court on Thursday (today).

In December 2015, the LHC had ordered city administrators to remove encroachments and illegal speed bumps from the city, after hearing a petition filed by Anwar Dar.

The court had given them a month’s time to comply with the order.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Dar said that the administration had assured the court that legal action would be taken against encroachers, but they had failed to do so.

He argued that the district administration and the cantonment authorities had failed to remove encroachments from major roads.

He said that the security agencies had also closed many roads while citing security concerns.

Dar complained that residents of the city suffered psychological and physical discomfort owing to the encroachments and blockades.

He claimed that there was ‘a strong perception’ that the encroachers had occupied different roads and markets in connivance with the concerned authorities.

He said that the encroachments led to massive traffic jams, citing Tench Bhatta and Dehri Hassanabad in cantonment areas, and Raja Bazar and Commercial Market as examples.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2016.