Rawalpindi city is depicted here.. PHOTO: FILE
In this regard, Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) Chairman Tariq Murtaza said that the development of a new district master plan will lay down the roadmap for regularisation of the city’s growth and the provision of public amenities for the next 25 years.
RDA has taken all concerned institutions on board in this regard, Murtaza said talking to The Express Tribune.
He said that the master plan will address the city’s needs for the next 25 years, including water supply, sewerage systems, health, education, playgrounds, traffic and tourism.
RDA has also decided to launch a housing project for government employees working in basic pay scale (BPS) grades one through 15. There are also plans to establish hospitals for RDA, Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa), and Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) employees and schools and their children, Murtaza said.
CM Sardar Usman Buzdar and Senior Minister Mian Abdul Rasheed have already given their go-ahead for all the projects in the plan and have also pledged to have the funds released, he said. Moreover, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) will also collaborate on the projects, the RDA chief said.
Reviving dead projects
Projects which have been made a part of the plan include the development of the Ring Road at a cost of Rs58 billion and the signal-free Leh Expressway project worth Rs80 billion for which a foundation stone will be laid this year, he said.
The project concept-I (PC-I) of both the projects will be finalised within four to six months after which development work will start, the RDA chief said about the projects that were being delayed since 2007.
The Ring Road will also feature a new hospital, wholesale market, technical college, university and commercial plazas, he said.
“We are also allocating land for Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme at the Ring Road as per the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan,” he said.
The Ammar Chowk remodelling project has been instituted as part of Leh Expressway, which will be constructed on built, operate and transfer (BOT) basis.
The expressway will also have toll plazas, which will help generate revenue for the maintenance of the road infrastructure.
The 23-km-long expressway from Soan River Bridge to Kashmir Highway is planned to achieve alternative traffic route between the twin cities, Rawalpindi Islamabad. Besides eliminating environmental pollution caused by open sewerage in Nala Leh, the expressway will help create economic activity along its sides too.
RDA Complex
Regarding another long-delayed project of Rawalpindi, Murtaza revealed that the development authority has decided to construct an RDA Complex on a 14-kanals of land lying vacant adjacent to Sports Complex at Liaquat Bagh.
The commercial complex will be prepared from the collaboration of the private sector and would have office premises for RDA as well as host of shops, showrooms and offices like garment stores, shops selling shoes, crockery, jewellery, mobile phones, fast food, offices of travel agencies, banks and other businesses.
The basement of the complex will have charged parking space for cars and motorcycles, Murtaza said.
Water issues
To resolve the water supply issues of Rawalpindi on a long-term basis, RDA has decided to get rid of tube wells and switch to consumption of river water, Murtaza said.
The authorities have already started the process to acquire land for Chahan and Dadocha dams. RDA has also signed an MoU with the Capital Development Authority (CDA) for the development of the Ghazi-Barotha Water Project.
Three projects to store rainwater are also expected to kick off in the next two months.
Clean, green drive
The RDA chief said that work on clean and green Rawalpindi project was underway. As part of this initiative, the metropolitan city would get an urban forest with nearly 120,000 trees.
The abundance of green cover would beautify the city as well as make it environment-friendly and make the air more breathable.
Regarding kitchen gardening and home poultry farming projects, Murtaza said, the district authorities were giving away portable stands to citizens for growing vegetables. These stands can hold up to eight pots and give the same number of seasonal fresh greens to households free of cost.
PHA staff will teach kitchen gardening to interested homemakers, he said adding, after provision for 100 families, RDA would extend this kitchen gardening facility to 500 more.
In the next two months, RDA will also hand over chicken with the cages to 1000 deserving families free of cost. The selected chicken breed is known to produce up to 230 eggs a year.
RDA will engage the Punjab Livestock Department to supply the chicken, while Tika will pick the tab, he said.
Murree Road, the city’s oldest thoroughfare, has been declared as a model road and a project for its beautification has also been launched, Murtaza said.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 15th, 2020.
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