RAWALPINDI: Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) officials on Friday forcibly stopped beautification work being carried out by Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) on Marrir Chowk Railway Bridge and pulled down a photo gallery established there, saying the bridge came under their jurisdiction.

A senior RCB official told Dawn that RDA had to get permission for carrying out any beautification work involving a sponsor or donor in the cantonment.

On the other hand, RDA said it had initiated a project to enhance the city’s aesthetic appeal by constructing a photo gallery along both sides of Marrir Chowk. The project aimed to highlight Rawalpindi’s cultural and historical significance adding beauty to the city’s urban landscape.

However, the project has suffered an unexpected setback after the RCB demolished the gallery. The incident underscores the persistent challenges of administrative coordination and legal jurisdiction between civic bodies, ultimately affecting public resources and urban development.

Civic agency should have taken permission for work in cantonment involving private sponsor or donor, says official

Talking to Dawn, RDA Director General Kinza Murtaza confirmed that the beautification work had been started by RDA with the help of philanthropists to improve the condition of roadsides on Murree Road and Rashid Minhas Road.

However, she said RCB officials arrived at the site on Friday morning and destroyed the work done on the wall of Marrir Railway Bridge.

“We have not installed any advertisements or anything else for revenue generation. We just work to give a neat and clean look to the city’s main roads and improve roadside areas.”

She said RDA managed to improve hanging wires of electricity, telephones while Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) was working to cover open sewage lines along Marrir Chowk.

“After the incident, I tried to contact the RCB cantonment executive officer but he did not attend the call. I brought the matter under the notice of Commissioner Amir Khattak and the station headquarters that work done by the RDA had been destroyed by RCB officials,” she said.

Ms Murtaza said Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation had constructed Rashid Minhas Road from Marrir Chowk to Kutchery Chowk from its own funds, paying power bills of lampposts while the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) carried out beautification work on the road. But all of a sudden RCB realised that it was its jurisdiction.

“We already have improved the condition of Murree Road by maintaining the underpass in front of Moti Mahal Plaza and whitewashing the pillars.” She said PHA improved the greenbelts while RDA also launched work on Rawal Forest Library in the area.

She said RCB did not write any letter to express its objection earlier.

A senior official of RDA said whitewash on Marrir Chowk Railway Bridge and pictures of Rawalpindi heritage installed on the walls were destroyed by the RCB.

He said the railway bridge was reconstructed in 2013 by the RDA at a cost of Rs550 million and the contract was awarded to NLC. He said for carrying out beautification work, there was no boundary.

The official said RDA was also working on developing a 3.5km bike lane on each side of the old Airport road where two km area on each side was in the limits RDA and 1.5km in Chaklala Cantonment Board. However, we work for the betterment of the residents on the directives of the Punjab government.

He said the cantonment board had asked for developing the bike lane from Ammar Chowk to Kutchery Chowk as well, but now we would impose 15 per cent development charges on the board.

Cantonment Executive Officer Syed Ali Irfan Rizvi was not available to comment on the matter despite repeated attempts.

However, RCB spokesman Rasheed Saqib said, “There is no issue as such. Marrir Railway Bridge falls within the territorial jurisdiction of RCB. Rawalpindi Cantonment Board is already working on the beautification of Marrir and its surrounding areas along with Chaklala Cantonment Board.”

He added, “Cantonment Board takes beautification of its areas seriously and already has beautified Saddar especially Bank Road which has been highly acknowledged by public at large.”

Another senior RCB official told Dawn that RDA had to get permission for carrying out work with any sponsor or donor.

“We would not allow anyone to use the logo of a private firm or donor without permission of the civic body in its jurisdiction,” he added.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2025