Master plan for Pindi’s seven tehsils finalised

The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has developed a new master plan for the next 20 years for seven tehsils of the Rawalpindi district with the help of numerous consulting firms.

As soon as the Punjab government approves the new master plan, the RDA will implement it in all seven tehsils.

Separately, the Punjab Intermediate Cities Infrastructure Improvement Projects has been tasked with the responsibility of designing a master plan for Rawalpindi. Rawalpindi's 20-year master plan expired in 2016.

The new master plan for the seven tehsils has suggested that the new projects should be started at a distance of 10 kilometres from existing urban limits.

The master plan envisages all essential needs such as water, power, gas, roads, health and education infrastructure, playgrounds and public parks to cater to the needs of the existing population and the upcoming population.

All relevant departments will complete their planning for the next 20 years once the master plan is notified. RDA Chairman Tariq Mehmood Murtaza said that former prime minister Imran Khan had issued instructions for master plans of major cities of Punjab including Rawalpindi.

He said it is plausible for Rawalpindi to extend towards the west, considering the city's growing population.

Additionally, he said, new construction in densely populated places must be halted to lessen the strain on the city's infrastructure and to guarantee that facilities were available to the people according to their needs.

He said RDA has decided on vertical construction on 13 approved schemes. According to him, the RDA has finalised the master plan for Murree, Kotli Sattian, Kahuta, Kallar Syedan, Gujarkhan and Taxila. These plans would be launched after the Punjab local government approved it.

The garrison city is likely to get a complete makeover in the coming years under a long-term plan that will ensure its smooth growth until 2045.

RDA Chairman Tariq Murtaza said that the development of a new district master plan will lay down the roadmap for the regularisation of the city’s growth and the provision of public amenities for the next 25 years. He said that the RDA has taken all concerned institutions on board in this regard.

After the promulgation of the new Local Government Act 2022, the Rawalpindi district’s local government set-up has completely changed and the number of local bodies in the Rawalpindi district has reduced from 22 to only seven.

Under the new law, the total number of neighbourhood councils of the Rawalpindi Metropolitan Corporation (RMC) has increased from 46 to 98 while the total number of village councils in the district council has increased to 106. The municipal committee status of Murree has also been abolished and it has been declared a unit of the Rawalpindi District Council.

With the new delimitation, the total number of neighbourhood councils and village councils in Rawalpindi has increased to 228, including 122 neighbourhood councils and 106 village councils. The Rawalpindi District Council will have 106 village councils.

Earlier, the Rawalpindi district was divided into 22 local bodies which comprised of one municipal corporation, seven tehsil councils, seven municipal committees, one district council, one town council and five Cantonment boards.

Under the new system, seven metropolitan units of the Rawalpindi district including one district council, one metropolitan corporation and five Cantonment boards (Rawalpindi, Chaklala, Murree, Taxila, Wah Cantt) have become seven local government units. Under the new law, tehsil councils, municipal committees and town committees (Doltala) have been abolished.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 23^rd, 2022.