Rawalpindi : The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has given instructions to the Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC) to stop approving the commercialization of land and the construction of new buildings without first getting a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa).
According to a senior RDA official, this will enable Wasa to manage the provision of water to new consumers by building new supply lines and developing a database of users of water supply and sanitation service users.
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This was said by the senior RDA official. In a letter that it sent to the RMC, the RDA emphasized that the Wasa is the primary body responsible for delivering water and sanitation facilities to inhabitants of Rawalpindi.
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The RDA further argues that the transformation of residential properties into commercial units is contributing to problems with the water supply and sanitation facilities that were initially designed to accommodate the authorized land use plan and the population density.
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In the letter, it is said that the rapid commercialization of the area has reshaped the original design for water and sanitation services.
The commercialization of the area is mostly taking place along important roads, where high-rise buildings have been constructed.
Developers have been constructing commercial buildings along several highways over the course of the past few years, which has placed a significant strain on the infrastructure that supplies water and manages sewers.
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Residents of these neighborhoods have voiced an increasing number of complaints regarding the inaccessibility of water and the obstruction of sewerage lines un recent months.
The letter draws attention to the fact that the result of this problem is the chaotic and uncontrolled commercialization of the city’s highways, which did not involve Wasa.
Water and sanitation are two key urban utilities that need for a large investment of resources during the planning, construction, operation, and upkeep stages of their respective systems.
On the other hand, the prices are significantly higher in Rawalpindi because of the naturally limited supply of groundwater and the uneven topography. Clauses for water supply and sewer connections are included in the NOC that is granted by the departments of building control that are involved.
However, planning is impossible in the absence of data pertaining to commercialization. Since the beginning of Wasa in 1998, permissions have not been requested from the agency, which hinders the agency’s ability to draw up plans for the system.
As a result, the gap between the real demand and the current infrastructure has widened over time.
As a result, the RDA has urged that the authorization of commercialization of buildings should not be granted unless a NOC from Wasa is first obtained. In the meantime, the RMC has agreed to make the NOC from Wasa mandatory for new building designs, which may cause a delay in the process of approving new construction.
Officials from Wasa have indicated that the NOC requirement will lead to an increase in the agency’s income as well as the provision of drinkable water based on data collected from customers. Wasa will initiate charges against persons who have unlawful connections to the water supply, and FIRs will be launched against defaulters, while consumers who squander water would be subject to high fines.
