RAWALPINDI: As investigations started into the Rawalpindi Ring Road Project scam, the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) failed to appoint a focal person to share data and details of land acquisition and illegal and legal housing societies along the route from Rawat to Sangjani with the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) as the civic body is headless for over a week.

The ACE Punjab director general wrote a letter to the RDA to provide the information within a day or two through an officer not below the rank of BS-17 and well conversant with facts of the case.

However, after the transfer of RDA Director General retired Capt Abdul Sattar Ehsani on May 17, the post has remained vacant.

The government has also not given the charge to any official within the civic body on a temporary basis.

Traditionally, the additional charge is given to the deputy commissioner or commissioner to manage the affairs of the civic body. But this time, the Punjab government did not give additional charge of the director general to any person.

Civic body has been without director general for 10 days

The fact-finding committee report of Commissioner Syed Gulzar Hussain Shah stated that former commissioner Mohammad Mehmood, project management unit’s deputy director Abdullah, land acquisition collector Waseem Tabish and ex-RDA director general Ammara Khan allegedly changed the alignment of the Ring road. The report recommended investigations into the scam.

A senior official of the RDA told Dawn that in the absence of the director general no official could be appointed as a focal person to coordinate with the ACE. He said the Punjab government had appointed a new deputy commissioner for Rawalpindi but he had not yet taken charge.

However, he said heads of all branches had been asked to submit the details to the investigation team and the Punjab audit directorate.

He said RDA had the record of housing societies while the record related to land acquisition was with the commissioner Rawalpindi. He said for the land acquisition, the government had initially allocated Rs6 billion of which Rs2.3 billion had been spent so far.

“Punjab government approved Rs14 billion for land acquisition but it was not released as it required federal government’s approval,” he said.

He said RDA failed to provide details about housing societies in the limits of the district and adjoining areas. He said the ACE had sought details about housing societies that were approval in the last one year when the survey for the route of Ring Road project had started.

On the other hand, a senior official in the commissioner office said the audit team had started its work and would prepare a report about alleged irregularities and how the alignment of the road was changed. He said that the report would be finalised within 20 days.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2021