RAWALPINDI: For five years, the district administration failed to demarcate 105 nullahs and streams and remove encroachments from their banks.

The Punjab government had directed the administration to preserve and plant trees along the banks of nullahs and streams in the district in 2013. However, the district administration did not begin the demarcation and identification of state land in the ensuing five years due to political pressure from the PML-N.

There are a total of 15 nullahs in Rawalpindi, seven in Gujar Khan, five in Taxila, 19 in Murree, five in Kahuta, 44 in Kotli Sattian and 10 in Kallar Syedan.

“Local leaders of the PML-N are against the demarcation of land along nullahs and streams because most of their supports are housing developers who do not want demarcation to be carried out,” a senior district administration official alleged.

Punjab govt directed admin to preserve banks of nullahs, streams in 2013

He said that after the 2001 floods, all the land along Leh Nullah was procured by the government, but encroachments were not removed because the former governing party did not want to turn people who had constructed along the nullah against them ahead of the local government elections and general election.

Another official told Dawn that being an arid agricultural area without any regular canal system, it has become extremely important to safeguard the existing nullahs in the district from encroachments so that the flow of water is not hampered or restricted.

He said that the right of way along all nullahs needs to be notified, on the pattern of the highway sector which had notified the right of way for all roads, to prevent unplanned urbanisation from consuming the width of the nullahs.

He said directives had been issued to assistant commissioners, field staff and civic organisations to ensure that the length and width of nullahs in their respective tehsils are maintained.

The official said that encroachments would have to be demolished after demarcation. The additional deputy commissioner (revenue) was assigned to ensure that encroachments on nullahs are a regular agenda item at the revenue department’s monthly review meetings.

He said the aim of the entire exercise was to maintain the original nullah space as it transpires in revenue records.

“The right of way space will be used for the movement of vehicles during the nullah-cleaning process. The inflow of untreated sewage in various nullahs will also be identified and will assist in making plans to reduce the inflow of untreated sewage,” he said.

But, he said, the district administration failed to implement the subject, resulting in encroachments along nullahs and streams that prevented the groundwater level from recharging.

“If the directives were implemented the groundwater level in the district would not be depleted quickly. At present, the groundwater level fell from 300ft to 400ft, as rainwater failed to recharge groundwater along the main nullahs and streams,” he said.

The official added that it was mainly housing societies that had developed along the Soan River and main streams in the Rawalpindi district. He said banks were encroached on by housing developers to build houses and commercial buildings.

Deputy Commissioner Talat Mehmood Gondal could not be reached for comment. However, a senior district administration official said the matter would be taken up after the elections, and the new government would decide on whether to carry out demarcation along nullahs and streams.

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2018