ISLAMABAD: The district administration of Rawalpindi has told the irrigation department of Punjab to start constructing the stalled Dadhocha Dam to end its tussle with the Defence Housing Authority.

In addition, the district administration is also considering imposing section 144 to stop the development of DHA Valley on the land marked for Dadhocha Dam, additional deputy commissioner general (ADCG) Rawalpindi Arif Rahim told Dawn.

He said that the irrigation department of Punjab had sent a reference to the Rawalpindi administration informing the latter of the construction taking place within the site of proposed land.

“We inspected the site and found partial construction there,” he said.

The housing scheme was started at the site of Dam but the Punjab government in 2012 stopped the construction activities after reaching a settlement with the DHA administration.

In July of last year, the Punjab government submitted a report in the Supreme Court which said that a serving Major General in March 2015 had called on the Chief Minister of Punjab and had expressed his reservation on the construction of a Dam as a large portion of DHA Valley was likely to be affected by the proposed dam’s pond area. The officer proposed an alternative site.

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2016