Islamabad (Staff Report/Agencies): The Punjab government while turning down the Bahria Town’s offer has assured the Supreme Court that it will build the Dadhocha Dam on its own.
The apex court bench headed by Justice Azmat Saeed was informed by the representatives of the Punjab Irrigation Department that the dam will be built by the government itself and that construction will be completed by December 2021.
During the hearing, the Punjab government rejected Bahria Town's offer to build the Dadhocha Dam, saying that technical experts raised a total of 108 questions on Bahria town's proposal.
In 2006, the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) had purchased 18,000 kanals near Rawalpindi at the site where the dam was to be built, and launched a housing scheme as a joint venture with Bahria Town. The DHA Valley scheme, meant for the bereaved families of martyred military personnel, was proposed at the dam site.
On Aug 4, 2015, the SC in a suo motu case had directed the Punjab government to construct the dam at the originally proposed site. Soon after these directives, the provincial government had banned the sale and purchase of land in the area and later allocated funds for the construction of the dam in its annual development plan for 2017-18.
