Rawalpindi Ring Road generates Rs130b in property deals

ISLAMABAD: The Rawalpindi Ring Road (RRR) has generated more than Rs130 billion in property deals since its conception in 2017, according to initial official findings. The fresh official findings reveal that 18 politically-connected individuals and 34 influential builders and property tycoons have acquired around 64,000 kanals of land in different deals in jurisdictions of Rawalpindi/Attock Loop, Paswal Zigzag, GT Road and Islamabad Margalla Avenue, which was expected to multiply in value once work on the RRR project started.

Either directly or through frontmen, they collectively acquired over 63,828 kanals of land by paying an estimated Rs31 billion to real owners of the land while some portions of land were allegedly grabbed in the past four years, revealed careful examination of official record, files and preliminary findings of investigators associated with RRR. Societies and property tycoons sold around 0.32 million files/pledges of plots by generating estimated Rs131 billion from clients, officials revealed. Dealers have also yet to pay tax against 67pc land deals, which remains at Rs1.7 billion. Around 60pc of societies and builders did not meet the basic registration criteria who were allegedly selling files of land which otherwise were not acquired yet directly or indirectly linked to jurisdictions of RRR, official findings revealed. Hundreds of thousands of land registrations were being sold to bulk purchasing investors and potential buyers on 10pc to 30pc down payments in the market, revealed off-the-record discussion/interviews with around a dozen senior officials of RDA, CDA and Attock/Rawalpindi/ICT administration.

Investigators also started looking into possible connection of around one and a half dozen ministers, special assistants to prime minister, MNAs, senators and MPAs with these property deals who could have been either direct or indirect beneficiaries of the newly-planned route had the project been executed. Some of them either collectively inherited over 17,110 kanals of land or recently purchased a major chunk of land, which apparently in one way or the other was close to the jurisdictions of RRR. Some of them had already ancestral lands in the concerned area while others appeared on the scene after the announcement of the RRR project.

Preliminary findings of investigators revealed that as many as 18 housing societies and builders purchased over 11,300 kanals land in nine mauzas namely Moorat, Jungle, Raman, Ganda, Daulat Pur, Mehlu, Bango, Kanial and Qutbal in the area directly or indirectly connected to the Attock Loop, according to the investigation. These builders and property tycoons paid around Rs1 billion to real owners of the land but they themselves generated over Rs11 billion from clients by escalating the land price in the past two years.

Some 10 housing societies acquired over 24,540 kanals of land. Real estate players, thus, paid Rs3 billion to land owners by generating around Rs50 billion after selling files in the past four years, according to preliminary findings. Six housing societies acquired 10,871 kanals of land and thus generated around Rs35 billion near the New Islamabad International Airport, GT Road, Paswal Zigzag and Margalla Avenue. As many as 19 of total 34 housing societies and construction companies were not registered even, revealed investigation.

Almost 60pc of societies and builders are selling ownership titles of land in bulk through advertisements by showing proximity of the society with the RRR project, revealed the investigation. Some 309 individuals and 11 firms have gone into litigation against these real estate tycoons while NAB started an inquiry against seven housing societies and 15 individuals, revealed official findings. Some 31 government officials and around a dozen retired officers of armed forces were also allegedly abetting the manipulators who were involved in these land dealings as well as in framing the desired RRR alignments.

Investigators of FIA, NAB and ACE Punjab are set to probe all those influential persons who either directly or through frontmen got approved this new alignment of RRR to get the desired road links in surroundings of RRR along with ICT, Rawalpindi, GT Road, Motorway, CPEC, Attock, Paswal Zigzag, Margalla Avenue and New Islamabad International Airport.

Investigators also confided to Geo News that the new RRR roads links could possibly benefit 34 plots of an former goverment influential and his family in Sectors C-15/16, Islamabad, and in one way or the other to 1,310 kanals land situated in the surroundings of Attock.

Thus the new alignment could possibly benefit an ex-senator of PML-N who owns over 4,700 kanals in jurisdictions of Fatehjang, Attock and Mauza Rajar, etc, according to official findings. Officials also continued to reveal that two MNAs of PPP own 2,460 kanals of land in Sangani, Islamabad, apparently a proposed jurisdiction of RRR.

Two federal ministers allegedly owned over 1,531 kanals of land in Fatehjang and some parts of Attock border linked to RRR routes, revealed the investigation. A son of a federal minister also allegedly has shares in a private housing society that finds its feet in the jurisdiction of RRR in Attock, claimed investigators.

An MNA of PML-N owned over 1,100 kanals of land near the RRR in Fatehjang and other parts of district Attock, according to investigators. Two MPAs of PML-N own over 1,400 kanals of land in Attock, close to RRR routes.

An MNA of PTI acquired hundreds of kanals and could take a possible benefit of RRR, investigators revealed. Two other MNAs of PTI had 40 kanals and 2,634 kanals respectively in Fatehjang and the surroundings of RRR, according to the investigation.

Six MPAs of PTI allegedly owned hundreds of kanals land in the village of Qazi, 4,000 kanals in Gaggan Tehsil Jand Attock, over 600 kanals of land in Sector B-17, Islamabad, and Paswal and six kanals of land in Sector E-13 in Islamabad, along with multiple proposed link roads associated with RRR, according to the investigation.

A thorough examination of the official record also revealed that a private housing society in village Ganda, Fatehjang, in the surrounding area of the proposed site of RRR purchased 2,300 kanals of land through sale agreements.

Many societies surrounding the Islamabad International Airport influenced the shift of RRR alignment towards Moorat, influenced design changes and local access in Moorat interchanges passing through the CPEC Motorway near Fatehjang, Pindigheb and Jand Tehsils of Attock.