RAWALPINDI: The local administration and traders of Benazir Bhutto Road have failed to reach an agreement over the procurement of land for the Rs38 billion Metro Bus Service Project.

The traders wanted compensation for their property according to the market rate but the government seemed adamant on paying them according to the formula it had adopted before launching the metro bus service in Lahore three years back.

Total 20.5 kanals of private land is required for the construction of 10 bus stations along the elevated road.

The provincial government will construct the 23.2 kilometres road on which 10 bus stations will be established in Rawalpindi and 14 in Islamabad.

Work on the project will start by the end of March and is scheduled to be completed by January 2015.

The revenue department has completed the survey of Benazir Bhutto Road for earmarking the land for the bus stations.

It recommended acquiring of 30x100 piece of land for each bus station.

The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has said land in Saddar, Marrir Chowk, two private hotels in front of Liaquat Bagh, Fried Fish Market in Committee Chowk, two private houses at Waris Khan, commercial markets at Rehmanabad, 6th Road and Faizabad would be used for the bus stations.

Traders’ representatives, including Sheikh Saddique, Sharjeel Mir and Shahid Ghafoor Paracha, held a meeting with Commissioner Zahid Saeed, District Coordination Officer Sajid Zafar Dall and revenue department officials on Saturday night.

The local administration made it clear that the government would pay Rs100,000 per marla more than it paid to the property owners in Lahore.

“In Lahore, when the land was acquired for the metro bus service, the government paid Rs1.3 million per marla against the market price of Rs1.2 million,” the commissioner informed the traders.

However, the traders said they would be displaced and it would take one to two years to establish their businesses in other areas. They said the government should pay them more.

“The government already has imposed Section 4 in the area and will get the land according to the law at the market rate. But it wanted to provide relief to the traders,” the official maintained.

The local administration gave more time to the traders to decide on the offer of the government.

Mr Sharjeel Mir told Dawn that the government should also provide relief to those traders who were running businesses on rented property.

“The traders who paid advance money (Paghari) for the shops will suffer a lot as the government has no plan to rehabilitate them. We wanted to get compensation for them too.”

He said the traders had suggested to the government to check the market rate in the area from banks who gave loans to the traders against their property.

Sheikh Sadique said more than 70 traders would be affected in the land acquisition process.

The commissioner told Dawn that the traders had been informed about the project and the law under which the land would be acquired.

He said the revenue department and the RDA had informed the traders about the market value of their property.

The traders sought time to discuss the matter and one or two more meetings would be held to reach the conclusion, he added.