RAWALPINDI, July 24: The district government has expressed its dissatisfaction over the pace of work on the Nullah Leh project and warned the contractors that no extension will be given in the completion time.

District Nazim Raja Tariq Kiani was speaking at a meeting held to review work on the Leh project. He conveyed his dissatisfaction to the contractors, and asked them to expedite the work.

“They have been categorically told to meet the March 31, 2003 deadline,” he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Punjab Minister for Housing and Communication Mohammad Tariq said the contractors should guarantee the quality of work and if they fail to do so, criminal proceedings would be initiated against them.

The officials informed the meeting that Rs12.7 million had been paid as compensation to the affected persons of the project in the first instalment, the rest would be compensated very soon. Through this amount, 196 affected persons were compensated.

The district authorities have acquired 122.6 kanals out of a total of 179 kanals needed.

Mr Tariq said the Leh extension project was perhaps the world’s only project in which the compensation amount paid to the affected persons had exceeded the cost of the project.

Utilities services, the meeting was told, had been paid Rs3.3 million to remove their infrastructure from the project area.

The Islamabad Electric Supply Company was paid Rs2.7 million against four demand notices, while the Sui Gas and Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited were paid Rs0.6 million and Rs0.2 million respectively.

The meeting was told by the officials that of the 197 buildings hindering the construction work on Dhoke Chiraghdin and Pirwadhai bridges, 180 had been demolished.

The authorities will demolish a total of 1,200 structures located in the project area, a majority of which have already been removed.

A large segment of the encroached land has been regained through an anti-encroachment drive started on July 9.