Rawalpindi   -   Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) Chairman Tariq Mehmood Murtaza on Tuesday said that the Pujab government has released funds for land acquisition for the execution of mega Rawalpindi Ring Road project.

“RDA will acquire the land for the Ring Road project that would be started by the end of this week,” he said while addressing a presser.

Managing Director (MD) Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Raja Shaukat Mehmood, Director Admin WASA / Deputy Director Finance RDA Muhammad Junaid Taj Bhatti, Deputy Director Planning RDA Muhammad Ijaz and Umer Farooq were also present on the occasion.

The Chairman RDA said the mega project is being launched by the PTI government to ease traffic, control urbanization and shift the small industrial units outside the city under the private public partnership basis.

He said that the basic needs of citizens of Rawalpindi are clean drinking water, Ring Road, Leh Nullah Expressway and Flood Channel, Ghazi Barotha and Chahan Dam projects that will start very soon.  

He said that since taking over charge of RDA Chairman he has been trying to provide the public service facilities to the public. “In order to make this effort a reality, SOPs have been framed for approval of building plan within 30-day time, change of land use approval within 45 days, approval of housing schemes within 75 days, digitization and record scanning started to save office records and construction of one-window setup has also started,” he said. 

He said, “We are trying to put maps, housing schemes and other services online for the convenience of the applicants.”  

About illegal housing societies, the RDA Chairman said that the RDA would take action and move to courts against those illegal housing societies which did not get NOCs from RDA.   

On the occasion, WASA MD Raja Shaukat Mehmood said that civic body has launched One Link Bill Payment service for the convenience of its customers. Now customers have access to submit their water bills by going to any bank’s ATM machine, as well as users can get their bills and internet banking and mobile app.  

With the signing of the online agreement, he said that the online bank transaction will be immediately transferred to the WASA account, leaving no possibility of any error.