Rawalpindi: The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) is considering a proposal to allocate 5,500 kanals of land near Adiala Village, earmarked for the development of a sewerage treatment plant, to a private real estate developer in exchange for financial assistance required for the construction of the Leh Expressway project, a news source reported.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Punjab government in the past turned down the RDA’s request for using the aforementioned land for developing a private housing scheme, instead of setting up the treatment plant. This particular project was planned to channel Rawalpindi’s sewerage water to the Leh Nullah, where it was to be treated and later used for agricultural purposes.
Sources claim that since the land for the development of this public project was acquired at the government rate back in 2006, using it for the development of a housing scheme might make the original landowners seek the court’s intervention in getting payment for the land at market rate. Based on this, it is unlikely that the provincial government will allow the RDA to hand over this land to a private housing scheme, claim the sources.
As per the information available, the RDA hasn’t been able to find an investor to develop the Leh Expressway project. It now wishes to allocate the sewerage treatment plant land to a private company that can finance the project. At the same time, the provincial government also lacks the funds required to complete the project on its own, and intends to complete the project with the help of private partners.
Sources also claim that the Leh Expressway’s PC-1 will be presented before the Public Private Partnership Authority after Eid-ul-Azha.
According to Rawalpindi Commissioner Mohammad Mehmood, ‘legal assistance has been sought from the Punjab Law Department in order to vacant the said land in Adiala Village for development of a housing scheme’.
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