RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) has expressed the fear that the Khanpur Dam water supply project will take another year for completion due to the non-release of Rs58 million by the federal government.

A senior official of the RCB told Dawn that more than 40pc work on the project was still pending. He said the shortage of water in the cantonment areas would increase in the coming summer. He said if the government released the funds without a further delay the RCB would complete the project before the start of the monsoon season.

The planning commission had asked the civic agency to complete the work before the summer but the federal government had no funds. He said the RCB had sent letters to the finance ministry thrice within two months through the Ministry of Defence but received no response.

More than 40pc work on project is still pending as RCB waits for release of Rs58m from federal govt, says official

“Rawalpindi and Chaklala cantonments rely on the water supply from Khanpur Dam as underground water level is depleting fast.”

The official said contractors who were tasked with constructing underground and overhead water tanks had stopped work as they wanted the payment of their dues.

“Due to the slow funding, the RCB also failed to pay to the Pakistan Railways for using its land for laying pipelines at three points - Dhoke Hafiz, Tarnol and Chaklala,” he said.

He said the railways had refused to allow the RCB to use its land for laying the water supply lines. The RCB also failed to get land for the construction of storage tanks. “The water tanks constructed near Racecourse Park were handed over to the Military Engineering Services (MES). Now we are looking for another site near Peshawar Road for the civilian population.”

He said the RCB was yet to start work on the construction of more overhead and underground water tanks in Chaklala Cantonment while seven overhead and underground tanks had already been constructed there.

He said water supply lines had also been laid in almost all areas of Chaklala and Rawalpindi cantonments a year ago. However, he said, there were some areas where the supply lines would be laid after crossing the railway tracks.

When contacted, RCB spokesman Qaiser Mehmood said they were waiting for the release of funds to speed up the work on the water project.

“The contractors have been asked to start the work and their dues will be cleared after getting the funds in a month or two.”

He said the project was likely to complete by the end of this year and the local residents would start getting water from the dam from the next winter. He said the RCB had prepared a plan to cope with the water shortage in the coming summer season.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2018