RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government is planning to establish the Leh Nullah Development Authority (LNDA) to tackle the issue of flooding in the monsoon season and to improve the catchment areas.

On the directives of the provincial government, the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has prepared the draft of the LNDA Act and sent it to Lahore for approval.

A senior official of the RDA told Dawn that the basic aim of setting up a separate authority was to solve the issue of flooding in the nullah and to improve the infrastructure along it.

“At present, some areas along Leh Nullah fall in the cantonment areas and some in the city limits. This creates problems to make a uniform policy for the areas along the nullah,” he said.

He said it was a long process as the authority cannot be established without legislation in the Punjab Assembly.

He said the draft Act would be presented in the provincial assembly in a few months and after its approval the authority would be established.

On the other hand, another senior official of the RDA said the PC-I of Leh Nullah Expressway and Flood Channel had also been prepared and sent to the Planning and Development Board of Punjab for approval.

RDA sends draft law to Lahore for approval; separate authority aimed at tackling issue of flooding, says official

However, he said, the government had linked the work with the urban generation project to improve the infrastructure along the nullah.

He said the project would not start this year.

The government wanted to develop economic zones along the Leh Nullah and in this regard RDA would carry out a feasibility study.

The official said the urban regeneration project was aimed at improving the outlook of congested roads and streets to turn Rawalpindi into a model city.

Moreover, the Punjab Working Development Party (PWDP) had approved the establishment of the Project Management Unit (PMU) for Leh Expressway and Flood Channel Project worth Rs65 billion on July 4 and asked the RDA to start the feasibility study for the urban regeneration along the nullah.

The RDA started a process to hire a consultant for urban regeneration.

The consultant will conduct the study within six months.

The Leh Nullah Expressway’s total length will be 16.5 km. As many as 1,604 houses fall in the right of way of the proposed expressway and 1,279 kanals is to be acquired - 1,035.98 kanal private land, 132.40 kanals owned by Military Engineering and Works, 54.72 kanals of Chaklala Cantonment Board and 56 kanals of Rawalpindi Cantonment Board.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2021