Punjab allocates Rs6b to acquire land for Ring Road

RDA’s tweaked land-sharing formula for housing and farmhouse fails to attract landowners

RAWALPINDI: As it hands out tender documents to firms hopeful of landing a lucrative Rs90.975 million contract to build the feasibility for the Rawalpindi Ring Road project, the provincial government has decided to allocate a meagre Rs6 billion to acquire land for the project.

However, the Punjab government has kept an option to increase this amount as per need.

Meanwhile, as many as 13 firms have acquired the tender documents to devise feasibility for the project. The government intends to award the contract for Rs85 million and intends to use the remaining Rs5 million for setting up the project management unit. However, these funds too can be increased as per need.

Any firm which finally lands the contract will have six months from receiving the work order for completing the consultancy report. The report will include the detailed design of the project, geometric and structural design and the resettlement plan for those affected by the project.

The process for acquiring land for the project will start once the consultant firm submits its report to the executing authority of the project – the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) — and will be acquired per the alignment determined in the report.

RDA in a bind on land-sharing formula

RDA’s dream of establishing its first-ever housing and farmhouse scheme has run into a land-sharing-formula-shaped problem.

Despite issuing advertisements, the authority has been unable to acquire 2,000-4,000 kanals of land in the areas along Adiyala Road, Grand Trunk Road and Chakri Road over the past month.

RDA had been directed by Punjab government to follow in the footsteps of other development authorities of the province and launch a housing and farmhouse scheme to raise revenues. But the land-sharing formula seems to have made the going tougher than officials expected.

Per the land-sharing formula, a landowner was to be awarded 25 development plots as compensation for every 100 kanals of land he gives up. This formula has been successfully implemented in Lahore and other cities of Punjab.

However, the RDA tweaked this formula and conditioned the offer to landowners paying half of the development cost of these plots. As a result, it has received a frigid response from the public.

The RDA aims to allot plots in its housing scheme according to the Prime Minister’s Housing Programme.

Portal complaints

The Prime Minister’s Citizen portal received some 92 complaints regarding the illegal housing schemes in the cantonment-controlled areas, flyover at Kutchery Chowk, a pedestrian bridge on Airport Road and encroachments.

RDA Director General Mehr Hayyat Lak directed to ratify these complaints during a meeting on Tuesday.

Lak was told that the citizens keep investing in illegal housing schemes despite RDA’s awareness campaigns. Moreover, people do not check RDA’s website to inquire about the legal status of housing schemes.

The meeting, though, decided to take immediate steps to stop illegal construction of residential and commercial structures within RDA’s jurisdictions to curb the difficulties faced by citizens.

The RDA director general further directed to address and forward all such complaints to the related sections.

Funds released

Over six months after taking charge, the provincial government has finally released Rs2.3 billion for development projects in the Rawalpindi district. However, the money has not been sent to the local government. Instead, the money has been given to legislators of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) from Rawalpindi.

The PTI has given members of its national assembly Rs150 million each for development projects while members of the provincial assembly have been given Rs100 million each.

Overall, Rs900 million have been issued to MNAs from Rawalpindi whereas members of provincial assemblies have been issued Rs.1.4 billion

Meanwhile, the lawmakers have submitted drafts of the development schemes they want to spend the money on.

In this regard, tenders for development projects have started to be issued in the district, nearly 10 months after they were halted. District development committees have also been re-activated to monitor projects.

Moreover, payments for contractors are expected to be released from March.

Further, 258 new development schemes and 138 pre-completed schemes are set to kick-off in the district. The new schemes planned include roads, school boundary walls, water and sewage projects. 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2019.