Encroachers grab Leh Expressway land
Rawalpindi Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) has launched an inquiry into encroachment on land declared part of the Leh Expressway.
ACE officials said that they have started investigation against management of a hotel which has encroached on land which falls on the route of Leh Expressway.
They added that the hotel was originally built by a politician, which was later sold. The new owner extended the hotel boundary by five kanals and built a boundary wall. ACE will register a case after a competing investigation pertaining to violation of boundary limits.
Meanwhile, the district administration has banned the sale and purchase of properties along Leh Expressway. All registration of such properties has also been stopped.
The Rawalpindi district administration has started marking the land on which the signal-free, dual carriageway will be built from Jhanda Chichi near Ammar Chowk to Khayaban-e-Sir Syed.
Residents of areas which have been demarcated for the construction of the Leh Expressway in Rawalpindi district have demanded that they should be paid market rates for their properties.
The expressway would be 20-kilometre (km) long while it would have four interchanges and 14 bridges on the entire route. There would be five entry and exit points on the expressway.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 23rd, 2020.