RAWALPINDI: Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) Director General Kinza Murtaza has asked the land-use and building control wing to take strict action against illegal and unauthorised constructions, encroachments and commercial activities in residential areas.

She also directed the metropolitan planning and traffic engineering wing to take measures for regulating traffic in the garrison city. She said there was a dire need for a comprehensive plan for smooth flow of traffic and for this the department should work with the traffic police and other stakeholders.

She also asked officials concerned to provide relief to the public seeking approval of residential and commercial building plans so unauthorised construction would be stopped.

She stated this during a meeting held to review progress on resolving various issues. RDA Additional Director General Awais Manzoor Tarar, Director Metropolitan Planning and Traffic Engineering Jamshaid Aftab, Director Architecture Shuja Ali, Director Estate Management Shahzad Gondal, Director Engineer Mohammad Kamran and other officials attended the meeting.

The meeting was informed about the latest status of encroachments and unauthorised construction in the city and adjacent housing societies. The RDA director general expressed her concern over the unauthorised construction and asked the officials to submit her weekly reports on the construction activities.

She also directed the metropolitan planning and traffic engineering wing to provide relief to the public regarding construction of residential and commercial buildings. She said people who come to RDA’s one-window facilitation centre should be provided maximum facilities and decisions on the building plans should be taken within a month.

She also directed strict action against commercial activities in residential areas and asked the officials to provide her a detailed report about commercial areas in the city.

Ms Murtaza stressed the need for speedy and quality work on all development schemes and directed the engineering wing to complete the ongoing projects on a priority basis. She said the RDA was going to start rehabilitation work on the metro elevated road from Saddar to Faizabad in which quality should be ensure along with its timely completion.

She said, “When there is no obstacle in the process of task implementation then it should not be delayed.” She reiterated that the authority should substantially increase the working hours to ease hardship of the citizens. The RDA chief also instructed the officials concerned to take steps for elimination of plastic bags in housing schemes.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2024