R3: Approved PC-1 contains detail of project, alignment

ISLAMABAD: Each and every major and minute detail of the Rawalpindi Ring Road (R3) project, including its alignment, was approved by the Punjab Assembly, provincial cabinet and the Planning & Development (P&D) Department Board, an official document reveals.

The 140-page PC-1, the Planning Commission proforma for development projects -- a copy of which is available with The News-- is titled “land acquisition, property compensation, afforestation & shifting of utilities for Rawalpindi Ring Road – R3 (66.3km) - an estimated cost of Rs16,471.2 million, (ADP No. 3980((2020-2021)”.

The Punjab assembly approved an allocation of Rs16,471.2 million under the annual development programme (ADP) following its clearance by the provincial cabinet to prepare the proposed R3 for construction by contractors on a private-public partnership (PPP) basis. The Provincial Development Working Party had also cleared it. The PC-1 is being kept under wraps as the accused officials are going to use it in their defence.

The annexures attached with the PC-1 include the detailed alignment map; work sheet calculation of land acquisition and District Price Assessment Committee (DPAC) minutes; list of structures; cost compensation of tube wells; details of trees to be cut; typical cross-section; estimated section-wise traffic demand (AADT); travel time study; design report; cost of shifting of utilities; expenditure sheet; environmental; approval of supplementary grant; and financial analysis.

The land acquisition plan contains details of every village, khasra numbers of land, DPAC approved price of every khasra. The details of shifting of services in the right of way (ROW) like electric poles, gas pipeline, telephone towers, irrigation channels etc., demolition of built-up structures and plantation along the alignment are also included in the PC-1. They were dependent on the alignment.

The commissioner’s report said that the P&D department, in response to a query, clarified that the “PC-1 for land acquisition for R3 already stands approved, which ‘doesn’t constitute approval of the alignment’”. Through a note, the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) director general tried to create an assumption of approval of the alignment, it said.

“It is like saying that the ‘nikah’ was performed but marriage wasn’t,” An official told The News. “The PC-1 can’t be approved unless it has elaborate information in every respect of the project. It is unprecedented in the history of the civil service to say the ‘PC-1 is approved but not the road alignment’.”

An official, accused in the commissioner’s report, said that all the officers who have been held responsible for the scam want the matter to be investigated by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB and not by any other government agency.

The PC-1 lists a total of 2275.02 acres of land in the districts of Rawalpindi and Attock and Islamabad that was to be acquired for the aborted R3. Of this land, 1287.60 acres (56.6pc) fall in Rawalpindi, 913.10 acres (40.1pc) in Attock and 74.32 acres (3.3pc) in Islamabad.

The document says compensation will be paid to the affected population for the loss of their land, houses, crops and other sources of income. The details of the nature of the losses to the public, entailed in the acquisition of land and compensation of utilities to get a clear 110 meters wide ROW including interchanges, were also given.

The PC-1 said a total of 2,051 families/households units will be affected due to land acquisition. Out of the total families affected, 1,385 will be landowners and 37 will be tenant farmers. Sixty-three families of tender cultivators were identified who were cultivating government land on an annual lease for the past many years. The information about the affected tenants, tender cultivators and government units was also provided.

The document said the implementation of the R3 project will necessitate compensation for about 245 affected structures including residential and commercial, which are located along the whole stretch. Of them, 191 structures are ‘pucca’, 26 semi-pucca and 28 are ‘kacha’.

It said due to the implementation of the proposed R3, mosques and graveyards may also be affected. A list of these places was listed. The RDA considered the re-alignment of the ROW to bypass the mosques and graveyards in the public interest.

The PC-1 said the present alignment will require compensation of eight tube wells at various locations along the entire stretch of 66.300km, which will be relocated.

In addition, trees on the land to be acquired will also be uprooted. These trees have been classified as small, up to 20 years of age, medium up to 20-30 years and large above 30 years. Physical verifications of the specifications by type of trees have been conducted in the field by the forest department. The trees to be removed are up to 20 years of age and are considered small in size. The trees falling in the 110m ROW will also be removed. There are a total of 17189 (small & large) trees, including 374 fruit trees 16815 non fruit trees in R3.

As a consequence of the project, a total of 2,269 families/household units totalling a population of 12,438 persons are anticipated to be affected/displaced. A majority of the population will be hit by the acquisition of agricultural land and residential structures.

The PC-1 also talked about the technical parameters including the design speed, lane width, inner shoulder; outer shoulder; cross slope; maximum grade and maximum super elevation.

The official said the price assessment given by the DPAC is reviewed by the provincial PAC headed by senior member Board of Revenue (SMBR) in the presence of top representatives of ten Punjab government departments who finalized the rates of land to be acquired.

The PC1 said that families, tenant farmers and tender cultivators affected by the land acquisition will also be paid cash compensation for seasonal crops i.e. wheat will be taken as a base crop for compensation with an average yield of 30 and 40 maunds/acre with a market rate of Rs1700 per 40kg.

The owners of the residential structures falling within the proposed ROW will be compensated fully. The structures are divided into three main categories - built structures made up of cement mortar, plastered walls and T-iron, girder or concrete roof, semi-pucca structures made up of mud mortar, walls with cement pointing and T-iron, girder roof and kacha structures made up of mud mortar, mud walls and wood batten roof. All the three types of structures will be assessed for damages by the building department at the pucca building, semi-pucca building and kacha building rates.

The mosques and other community resources will be relocated as desired and as agreed upon by the respective community. Cash grant for the loss of structures and reconstruction/improvement of the community facilities/common property resources will be paid. The cost will be assessed as per rates adopted for various types of structures.

The employees of the poultry farms and brick kilns along the route have been considered as indirect/secondary affectees and will be eligible for assistance due to loss of income, and employment/loss of work opportunity due to dislocation. A one-time cash grant for one month at the rate of the local wage rate will be paid to all the eligible. The owners of poultry farms and brick kilns will receive the following cash grants for loss of business premises (land) plus shifting or moving allowance, and one-time cash grant for 30 days against loss of workdays. Cash grant will be provided to the poultry farms at the rate of Rs150,000 per month; shifting allowance to poultry farms at the rate of Rs120,000 per unit; cash grant to brick kilns at Rs150,000 per month and shifting allowance to brick kiln at Rs120,000/unit.