RAWALPINDI, Nov 8: The Punjab government has approved the construction of the much-awaited Cherrah Dam, after enhancing the level of compensation to be paid to the affected people and the project being undertaken by the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) and the Punjab Irrigation Department as a joint venture.

The estimated project cost is Rs5.4 billion and 750 acres have been acquired for which Rs2.8 billion have been earmarked as compensation for the affected people. The people whose land has been acquired, for the project, would be paid Rs100,000 per kanal as compensation.

Earlier, the provincial government had allocated Rs80,000 per kanal as compensation, which the land owners rejected.

The director general of the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA), Brig (retired) Parwez Mahmood Khan, told Dawn on Thursday that the construction of the long-proposed dam would now materialise, adding that work on the project would start soon.

The dam would be constructed on the Soan River at a location about 12 kilometres downstream from the Simly Dam. It has the potential of supplying 15 million gallons of water daily (MGD) to the Rawalpindi city as well as the Military Engineering Services (MES) for the next 50 years.

Water would be supplied to the city through a conduction line to be arranged by Wasa, while the construction of the dam would be the responsibility of the irrigation department.

Mr Khan said the construction of the Cherrah Dam was aimed at utilising surface water sources and minimizing dependence on ground water, which, he said, had not only deepened the water table but also caused contamination.

“The dam would overcome water scarcity and would be a perennial source of drinking water for the next 50 yeas. We are determined to get the project (completed) within the stipulated time period,” Mr Khan assured.

The managing director of Wasa, Lt-Col (retired) Islamul Haq, said the Cherrah Dam would ameliorate water shortage to a considerable extent, adding that the Rawal Dam had almost outlived its 50-year design life.

The Cherrah Dam was proposed in 2001. However, work on the reservoir could not start as the dam’s site was occupied by some housing societies, which kept insisting that the dam should be constructed by them. The RDA took serious notice of the issue and later banned the purchase of land near the site of the dam and also informed the provincial government, which triggered the Punjab government to immediately approve the project’s design and cost.

A Karachi-based private consultant has prepared the PC-I and feasibility of the dam and has forecast that the dam would last 50 years that would provide uninterrupted supply of water to both the cantonment and city areas.