November 04, 2007	Sunday	Shawwal 22, 1428

RAWALPINDI, Nov 3: The Punjab government has approved the construction of a rest house in the restricted area of the Rawal Lake filtration plant to use it as the camp office for its local government department.

Official sources confirmed to Dawn that City Nazim Raja Javed Ikhlas had issued no-objection certificate (NOC) for construction of the luxury rest house spreading over two kanals. The decision has been taken despite the fact that the entire building of the Potohar Town has been vacated for the local government department.

Insiders see something fishy in the project, saying a camp office had already been set up for the department adjacent to the city nazim’s office, and even then if there was a need to build a new camp office for the department a vast area was available in the heart of the city.

“Why the authorities are adamant to shift the office from the city area to a remote place and that too within the sensitive area of Rawal Lake which is already affected by excessive construction activities and disposal of poultry wastes, etc.,” an official remarked.

The sources said managing director Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) Lt-Col (retired) Islamul Haq had opposed the project due to sensitivity of the area, risks posed to the water quality of the lake and security of the filtration plant.

But the provincial government and top officials in the district administration were pressuring Wasa not to oppose the project, the sources said.

The sources said Wasa was under immense pressure from the higher authorities to let the project go ahead without considering its negative impact on the environment of the lake. They said a top official of Wasa had even been threatened that he would be transferred if he continued opposing the project.

They disclosed that the city district government had already occupied the MD House situated on the premises of Rawal Lake filtration plant and now was planning to build the rest house. They said the construction of the rest house without the approval of Wasa would be illegal.

City Nazim Raja Javed Ikhlas confirmed to Dawn that the provincial government had planned to construct a rest house in the area. However, he declined to comment when asked about the risks posed by the project.

When contacted, the Wasa managing-director declined to comment on the issue, saying he did not want to create confrontation with any political influential.

However, he said any construction activity on public place within the sensitive area of the filtration plant would have negative impact on the quality of water.

The Rawal Lake is the only surface drinking water source for the residents of Rawalpindi city and cantonment areas and the lake’s water is badly getting polluted due to various reasons while the new project indicates the government’s sincerity towards clean drinking water.