RDA hopes for revenue boost after expansion
The area under Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has been extended and not include four tehsils of the district including Gujjar Khan, Kallar Syedan, Taxila and Rawalpindi have been removed from the control of the district council and included in the area under the RDA.
The expansion of RDA-controlled areas will provide massive additional revenue to RDA. The planning of new private housing schemes in these areas will be as per RDA rules. Illegal schemes in existing private housing schemes will be regularised as per the rules.
The addition of the district council area to the RDA-controlled area was approved in a meeting of the RDA governing body. Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaqat Ali Chattha chaired the meeting, in which he issued directives to immediately take over private housing schemes and building control in the Rawalpindi District Council area.
The meeting took place at the RDA office with RDA Director General Saif Jappa and other officers in attendance. The respective directors of RDA gave a detailed presentation on their agenda items to the governing body.
The body approved taking over private housing schemes and building control in the entire Rawalpindi District Council area subject to finalisation of records and details of the revenue sharing formula.
The commissioner directed that building control should be strengthened for efficient functioning. He ordered the recruitment of officers and inspectors through the Punjab Public Service Commission to address the issue of staff shortage.
He said that both the RDA and district council departments should make a formula for sharing the functions of private housing schemes and building control without any delay.
The governing body approved strengthening the administration of RDA by creating the post of additional director general of grade 20. It also approved giving Eid allowance once a year to contract employees of RDA.
The RDA approved the inclusion of electricity adjustment charges in domestic and commercial bills and recruitment/posting of staff for the Directorate of Planning and Development and Water & Sanitation Agency (Wasa) Rawalpindi.
The participants were directed to give their best in their respective responsibilities to make RDA a successful and strong organization in terms of financial and administrative skills.
Other than members of the governing body, Wasa MD Muhammad Tanveer, RDA Land and Admin and Finance Director Ghazanfar Ali Awan, RDA Chief Planner Jamshed Aftab, State Management Director Asif Mehmood Janjua, Architecture Director Shuja Ali, MP&TE Director Tahir Mayo, Finance Deputy Director Khawaja Arshad, Admin Deputy Director Iftikhar Ali Janjua, and members of finance department and the P&D department as well as officials from the office of the deputy commissioner and local government.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 21st, 2023.