The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) was forced to halt its operation to retrieve a valuable plot worth Rs1.5 in the city.
The operation, aimed at reclaiming RDA-owned land, was interrupted after the authority's operational staff successfully cleared illegal occupants.
However, when construction on boundary walls was set to begin, the construction work was stopped on the instructions of the competent authority, leaving the plots still under alleged illegal occupation.
According to sources, the operation launched by RDA against encroachments and illegal constructions, under the direction of the Punjab government, revealed that valuable plots owned by RDA had been illegally occupied.
One such plot, located near the petrol pump adjacent to Eidgah Sharif shrine on Asghar Mall Road, consists of three kanals of prime commercial land valued at no less than one to one and a half billion rupees.
The construction on this plot, including a hay warehouse, was demolished under the orders of RDA's director general (DG), and the site was reclaimed. However, when RDA's engineering staff arrived to begin the construction of boundary walls, they were ordered by the competent authority to stop work via a phone call and were instructed to leave the site.
As a result, two months have passed, and the illegal occupants still retain control of the land.
In a written directive issued on February 19, 2025, RDA DG Kanza Murtaza assigned the task of retrieving possession of plots 11, 12, and 40 in the Phagwari Syed Yore Scheme, along with additional land, to a team consisting of Assistant Director Engineering Muhammad Waqas, Sub-Engineer Naeem Hashim, and Sub-Engineer Habibur Rehman Butt.
The team was instructed to remove the illegal occupants and construct boundary walls to secure RDA's possession of the plots.
Prior to this, the RDA DG had visited the site with staff, but the RDA's staff was called back before the construction of the boundary walls could begin, despite the fact that the court stay orders in favour of the illegal occupants had already expired.
Surprisingly, while the RDA is actively leading the Punjab government's campaign against encroachments and illegal constructions, it has so far failed to reclaim its own valuable plots of land from illegal occupation. When contacted, Kanza Murtaza stated that she had instructed the director of land to provide a statement.
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