In partnership with the World Bank, the Punjab government has begun the Punjab Rural Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation Project (PRSWSSP) in 16 districts across the province.
During a briefing at the deputy commissioner’s office, PRSWSSP Tehsil Manager Jamil Ahmed Khan stated that all concerned Mauzas of all tehsils were asked to arrange state and private land for the project in coordination with the local administration.
According to Additional Deputy Commissioner Revenue (ADCR),?Ahmed Raza Butt, the PRSWSSP and Solid Waste Management Project (SWMP) in Rahim Yar Khan district will begin in Liaqatpur tehsil with the assistance of the district administration, Punjab Rural Municipal Services Company, and local government and community development department.
The Chaks (villages) of 20 Mozaas were selected in the first phase of the project, and tenders for work in six villages were released, he added.
Mr Butt said that the contractor has been advised to begin the work on the ground as soon as possible, while tenders for the other 14 Chaks and Mauzas would be released soon.
He added that the official bids for the state land needed for both phases of the project have been submitted to the relevant department. He informed the PRSWSSP manager that the district administration would also work together to provide private land and transfer state land to PRM Services Company.
Earlier this year, the Rahim Yar Khan district administration successfully recovered three acres of state land worth PKR 95 million from land grabbers in Chak 78-P for a development project.
According to the information, the area, which is held by the Board of Revenue, is situated close to?the Gulberg Executive Housing Society on Shahi Road and had been utilised for years as a cattle pen.
Further details revealed that several influential farmers in the community had gradually seized the land and converted it into cow yards by storing cotton plants.