Pindi admin starts serving notices on families living along Nullah Leh

Rawalpindi: On the directions of Commissioner Rawalpindi Division Syed Gulzar Hussain Shah, the officials of Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) and Municipal Corporation have started to serve notices to the residents settled along Nullah Leh. The concerned authorities have planned to serve notices to over 500 residents settled along Nullah Leh and directing them to bring their original registries and other necessary land documents to show off to government officials for claims in this regard.

The long-awaited Nullah Lai Expressway project would be kicked off soon as all the preparations have been finalised. The residents settled along Nullah Leh have shown serious concerns in money matters because the Punjab government announced to pay affected people according to the amount mentioned on the registry rather than the present value of the land. Commissioner Rawalpindi Division Syed Gulzar Hussain Shah told ‘The News’ that they were trying to provide maximum compensation to all affected people settled along Nullah Leh. He said that the Nullah Leh project is the turning point of Rawalpindi city because this project would be a big gift for citizens. Nullah Leh Expressway would be a game-changer project for the city and would help ease traffic congestion in the town, he said. The officials of RDA and Municipal Committee said that they have served notices to over 100 residents settled along Nullah Leh. “We have demanded original land documents for compensation. Land grabbers would come to the surface,” the officials claimed.

The Punjab government has allocated Rs55 billion for the ‘Nullah Leh project’ in the budget of the financial year 2021-22 and the construction work of the project would be kicked off this year. The 18-km long Nullah Leh Expressway project would start from ‘Ammar Chowk’ and culminate at ‘Pindora’. High-rise commercial buildings would be constructed on both sides of the expressway. This project would be completed under a public-private partnership. The project would also help control flash flooding problems during heavy rains.

The officials of RDA and Municipal Corporation, Rawalpindi on condition of anonymity said that hundreds of families settled along Nullah Leh were not willing to vacate their land. They want to get money for their property in accordance with present value but the Punjab government was offering them money according to the rate mentioned on their registries. The affected families have planned to lockdown Rawalpindi city within days, the officials claimed.