Landowners threaten Aug 14 protest over Rawalpindi Ring Road payments
Landowners whose property was acquired for the Rawalpindi Ring Road say they still have not been paid and plan to protest at the project’s Aug 14 inauguration. They allege no compensation award or payment rate has been announced despite the road’s completion.
RAWALPINDI: A group of landowners says it will protest at the Aug 14 inauguration of the Rawalpindi Ring Road, alleging that compensation has still not been paid for land acquired for the 38.5-kilometre project even though the road has been completed and opened for traffic.
The affected owners say no formal compensation award has been issued for hundreds of kanals taken through compulsory acquisition, and that authorities have yet to announce either the rate or the total amount payable. They say the land was surrendered in the national interest, but payment has not followed.
A delegation of protesting owners met MNA Engineer Qamarul Islam to press its case. Among those who spoke on the issue were former union council chairman Zia Mehmood, former naib nazim Haji Arshad Javed, PML-N focal person Raja Ilyas Kayani, Haji Bashir, Malik Muzaffar Hussain, Malik Bilal and Raja Waheed.
They said land belonging to around 200 owners in each of seven old settlements had been taken and that fencing had also been put up around densely populated localities. They held the Rawalpindi Development Authority and the Ring Road project management responsible for not issuing compensation awards in Mouza Kahi Mirbaz, Khengar Kalan, Hoshial, Kamalpur and nearby areas where the carriageway has already been built.
The owners also complained that fencing has cut off access to agricultural land in and around Mera Mohra Interchange, Mandhal, Dhakki Kalan, Dhok Raja Gul Sher, Khengar Kalan, Hoshial, Kamalpur and Ratti Bin.
They have asked Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and the Rawalpindi commissioner to intervene, fix responsibility for the delay, issue the awards before the inauguration and ensure immediate payment.
Qamarul Islam said all affected landowners would be compensated and that their grievances and relevant details had already been forwarded to the Punjab government and the commissioner.
Raja Ilyas Kayani said a delegation would also travel to Lahore to meet the chief secretary. He said that if the issue remained unresolved, landowners would stage a strong protest at the inauguration ceremony and also hold a major demonstration outside the commissioner’s office this week.
The Ring Road has already been linked to the motorway to keep traffic moving despite the Thalian Interchange still being incomplete. Repeated changes to the interchange’s geometry and configuration increased its cost from Rs1.2 billion to Rs4.7 billion.
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