ISLAMABAD, June 18: An allocation of Rs340 million has been made for supplying water to the residents of Rawalpindi from Khanpur Dam under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).

According to the budget 2002-3, of the total allocation of Rs340 million, Rs200 million will be given to Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) and Rs140 million to the district government.

The RCB will utilize the amount for the second phase of the Khanpur water supply project while the district government will spend the amount on its first phase.

When contacted, an RCB official said the project’s second phase would cost Rs510.310 million, of which Rs100 million had so far been utilized.

He said in the second phase, the RCB would lay the main pipelines of eight inch-diameter in various parts of the cantonment area. Similarly, underground and overhead water tanks would be constructed.

He said the first phase was completed at a cost of Rs180 million under which the main conducting pipeline was laid from Shah Allah Ditta Reservoir to Westridge area.

Under the project, the cantonment area will get 19.5 million gallons per day from Khanpur Dam. However, only 4MGD is being supplied to the area these days.

The first phase of the project was completed at an estimated cost of Rs7 billion to provide 51MGD to Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

Of the total, 17MGD was to be supplied to Islamabad and 34MGD to Rawalpindi. However, Islamabad is receiving only 7MGD. Rawalpindi city is receiving only 1MGD through the RCB water supply system because Wasa has so far not laid its main conduction pipeline from Shah Allah Ditta to the city area.

A district government official said the allocated amount of Rs140 million would be spent on the first phase under which the main pipeline would be laid at a total cost of Rs705 million. He said a sum of Rs200 million had so far been spent on the first phase.