RAWALPINDI: In order to improve the water supply system in Murree and its peripheries, the divisional development working party (DDWP) has planned to launch a rainwater harvesting and water treatment project to meet local requirements.

The body also asked the administrations of the six districts of Rawalpindi Division – Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Murree, and Talagang – to upload all the development schemes on respective websites to avoid duplication.

The meeting held at the commissioner’s office was attended by Parks and Horticulture Authority Director General Ahmed Hasan Ranjha among other officials. The DDWP asked the district administrations to ensure the quality of construction materials and improve the level of transparency in the ongoing development schemes.

It stated that unnecessary delays in the projects “compromise their usefulness”, therefore they should be wrapped up within the stipulated period.

Commissioner asks departments to digitise uplift schemes data to avoid duplication

It also asked the departments for a third-party audit of the quality of the construction material upon the completion of the schemes, adding the administration would not tolerate negligence in this regard.

A senior official said that the Punjab government was asked to send a comprehensive report about the annual precipitation in Murree and measures to harvest the rainwater. According to the official, the administration has already started work in this regard. During the meeting, the public health department presented 13 uplift schemes out of which two were for Rawalpindi, three for Jhelum, and eight for Chakwal for the extension of the gestation period.

The work on drainage and sewerage schemes would be started in cantonment wards No. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 in Wah whereas work on streets and drainage in Chaklala Cantonment Board Ward No. 1 to 6 would be completed by the end of June.

It was informed that the Punjab government provided the funds for the uplift schemes in cantonment areas and the building department was working in this regard with the permission of the respective cantonment boards.

The highway department presented five schemes for revised approval, including four based in Chakwal and one in Jhelum.

In Chakwal, four roads including a five-km road in Hastal village, a cemented road in Dhoke Gah, a repair of 5km road from Dhoda to Khasala, work on 6km road from Saddam Chowk to Tarati, and the Pindaddan Khan-Chakwal road.

The commissioner said that before bringing the schemes to the forum concerned, it should be ensured that there was no duplication with the help of the GIS mapping. Apart from this, a dashboard of development schemes should be created in all areas where daily progress could be reviewed, as per the official.

He further said that the standards of all other interventions, including signboards, should be kept uniform throughout Rawalpindi. Moreover, the development schemes must be executed in a way that there would be no need to reconstruct them in the next three to four years.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2024