IDWP okays new land revenue record system

Forum also approves sanitation schemes for suburban, rural areas

ISLAMABAD: A project development body for the district administration of the federal capital on Sunday approved three projects worth Rs1.19 billion, including a project to develop a new land revenue records management system.

This was decided as the Islamabad Development Working Party (IDWP) met on Sunday with Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Chief Commissioner Amer Ali Ahmed in the chair.

The party, which convened after a gap of nearly five years, reviewed four projects worth a total of Rs1.25 billion. The meeting was attended by the representatives of the Federal Planning Division, federal ministries of finance and interior, Islamabad deputy commissioner, the director-general of the Chief Commissioner's Office, Chief Commissioner's development director, the Loca Government and Rural Development Department executive engineer. Member of the National Assembly from Islamabad and Special Assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Capital Development Authority (CDA) Affairs Ali Nawaz Awan, was also present in the meeting.

The executive engineer and director general gave a briefing on the proposed development projects. Under the road and pavement project in ICT, they said that it involved projects for 15 union councils (UCs) of the federal capital. Cumulatively, the project is expected to cost around Rs350 million.

For the sewage, sanitation and water supply schemes, the project includes installing some 1.437 million square feet of drain pipes in 18 UCs of the federal capital. Additionally, 16 water supply schemes will be set up in the rural areas of Islamabad. Cumulatively, this project is expected to cost Rs650 million.

Both the projects were approved for a combined cost of a billion rupees and will be completed over two years. The chief commissioner directed the planning and engineering departments to devise more schemes to facilitate residents of the rural areas of the federal capital.

The Land Revenue Record Management System project, which has been pending for a long time because the IDWP has been stalled for the past five years, was also reviewed.

While the forum approved the project at the proposed cost, Ahmed said that 12 month time period prescribed to complete the project was too long, given the urgent need for the system.

The chief commissioner subsequently directed that the project should be completed within six months. To speed up the process, he said that assistance can be taken from the Punjab Land Revenue Authority, the National Database Regulatory Authority (NADRA) as well as from the National Information Technology Board (NITB).

The fourth project was for the construction of a tehsil administration office in Sector G-11/4 of the federal capital worth Rs59.94 million.

The forum discussed in detail the project concept-1 (PC-I) for the construction of the office. Participants of the meeting suggested that the building should be constructed such that specially-abled people can easily access it and must include elevators and ramps for the purpose. Further, it was suggested that a multi-story building should be built with parking levels and ramps.

Based on the recommendations, Chief Commissioner Ahmed directed to amend the PC-1 and present it in the next meeting of IDWP for a review.

At the end of the meeting, Ahmed called for expediting work on public utility projects and completing them within the stipulated time frame.

The IDWP is a district administration level body and is separate from a similar body of the Capital Development Authority (CDA).

Published in The Express Tribune, November 25^th, 2019.