RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government has asked the district administration to start land acquisition for the Daducha Dam project worth Rs6.4 billion to meet the shortage of water in the city.

The government has allocated Rs1.5 billion for the project.

Commissioner retired Capt Mohammad Ahmed told Dawn that the government would start two main projects to end water shortage in the Potohar region.

He said he has directed the revenue department to start the process of land acquisition and make a schedule for payment to the owners.

The district administration imposed Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act 1894 and more than 16,000 kanals will be acquired. The dam will be constructed upstream Soan River. Rainwater from Murree and Kahuta hills will gather in the lake at Daducha village near Sihala on Kahuta Road.

As many as 10 villages, including seven in Rawalpindi and three in Kahuta, will fall under the dam and 218 houses, seven industrial and commercial units and other areas will be affected by the project.

He said the dam will be constructed to provide 25 million gallons of daily (MGD) water to the city areas. The land revenue department, he said, has completed a survey of the area but there were some issues in the record.

“The revenue department has been asked to make corrections in the record within two weeks,” he said.

The government wanted to initiate three projects - DaduchaDam, Leh Nullah Expressway and Ring Road - but work on development had been slow due to the pandemic, he said, adding initial work on Ring Road had started.

He said work on Leh Expressway is also likely to start soon whereas the district administration of Chakwal has directed to initiate work on Mahuta Dam to end water shortage in the area.

Meanwhile, a meeting to review the arrangements to start the Daducha Dam and Mahuta Dam was held with Mr Mehmood in the chair. It was attended by senior officials from Small Dams Organisation and district administrations.

The commissioner said the two dams are important to meet water requirements of the region and in this regard, the provincial government has been directed to start work as soon as possible.

He said Mahuta Dam was important in Chakwal as currently rainwater was wasted due to absence of a storage facility and if it was stored, it would also boost agriculture in the area.

The groundwater level is decreasing in the Potohar region fast and there is a dire need to construct dams for drinking water and for agricultural purposes.

The meeting was informed that tourist sites would also be constructed along these dams for promotion of tourism. Officials said that the tourism department has begun work for development of the area.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2020