Staff Reporter
The Lahore High Court has instructed the district administration of Rawalpindi to halt the construction of the Dadhocha Dam, which was to be built in the Dadhocha village near the city.
In a hearing on Friday, the court said that owners of the site, where the dam is being constructed, have filed nine petitions against its construction.
One of the petitioners, Rab Nawaz, told the court that they were given the rate of the land 10 years ago. “In all these years, no work was done for the development of the project.”
In 2020, a feasibility report was prepared which revealed that the dam site was increased from 7,000 canals to 14,000 canals. “Our rates should be increased now,” Nawaz requested.
Following this, the court ordered the construction of the dam to be halted and has adjourned the hearing till February 2. Both the parties have been instructed to be present at the next hearing with all project-related documents.
In 2019, the Punjab government had told the Supreme Court that it will complete the construction of the dam in 2021. The government has allocated Rs2.8 billion to purchase the land for the dam.
The dam was proposed in 2001. The reservoir is expected to provide 24 million gallons of water to Rawalpindi every day.
