Rawalpindi: Terrorism costing RDA dearly

[Naveed Yaseen]

Work on development schemes comes to a standstill, revenue generation resources depleted

Friday, November 06, 2009
Saeed Ahmed

Rawalpindi

The recent spate of terror attacks has not only discouraged investors but also affected the overall development activities and revenue generation resources of the government, said Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) Director General Makeen Shahbaz.

Talking to ‘The News’ here on Thursday, the Rawalpindi Development Authority chief said that the recent wave of terrorism has brought all development schemes to a standstill. “We are eager to launch development projects, but the poor law and order situation is not allowing us to do so,” he added.

Responding to a query, he said that the RDA is fully determined to launch work on a shopping and parking plaza in Raja Bazaar at the earliest, but due to prevailing situation we cannot do so.

He said that it is not only the RDA but other departments too which are reluctant to materialise their development projects.

It merits mentioning here that the government had announced to launch work on parking and shopping plaza in Raja Bazaar in the first week of November.

He said that the Rawalpindi Development Authority has issued orders to the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda), Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) and the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) to shift their material like electricity poles, electrical wires and water and gas pipelines from the construction sites.

The concerned departments, acting positively, have issued demand notices to the RDA for payment of funds to them for shifting of their material from project sites. An amount of Rs10.5 million is required to give funds to related departments and the process has been initiated.

He said that the RDA has also held negotiations with representatives of Suzuki transporters, directing them to shift their stop from Fawara Chowk to the Gordon College. All this process would be completed in a couple of months and the implementation work on the project would start immediately.

He said around Rs800 million have been earmarked for this scheme under the Annual Development Plan of 2009-2010, but it all depends upon improvement in the law and order situation.

Moreover, he said that the acts of terrorism have caused a loss of 50 per cent to the RDA with regard to generating revenue since terror acts have started in different parts of Punjab and NWFP. People are not even approaching the RDA to get their building plans prepared and approved.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=207104