RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has been operating without a permanent director general for two years as the government has failed to fill the post.

In the absence of a permanent director general, the authority has not been able to launch new projects for housing schemes, the construction of roads, town planning, traffic engineering and the improvement of existing infrastructure, or compile data of private housing societies for registration.

After the beginning of the metro busproject, which was worth Rs44.81 billion, the provincial government transferred then director general Chaudhry Naseer to the Lahore Water and Sanitation Agency, and gave acting charge of the director general post to Divisional Commissioner Zahid Saeed, who also held the charge of metro bus project director.

A senior RDA official told Dawn that the RDA is an autonomous body that operates under the Punjab Department for Housing, Physical Planning and Public Health. The district nazim is also the chairman of the civic body.

However, the district coordination officer (DCO) is currently using the powers of the district nazim, and as administrator is also the chairman of the RDA.

He said because of official engagements, the commissioner and the DCO failed to give the authority much time, and for the last two years the civic authority`s only job has been to overlook the metrobus project.

`In the closing of the metro bus project, contractors and civic body officials are facing problems closing the accounts, and failed to start an audit of the project, which is compulsory to close accounts,` he said.

The official added that the office of the finance director has been vacant for six months, and after a lack of options, the local administration appointed former additional district collector general Imran Qureshi to the post on June 5.

According to former district nazim Raja Tariq Mehboob Klani, who ran the affairs of the district between 2001 and 2006, the RDA`s role was limited within the tenure of the PML-N government.

`The RDA`s job was planning and development for the city uncontrolled traffic, housing schemes and lack of planning has exposed the civic body`s performance. No new housing schemes at a government level have been launched in the last twodecades.

Mr Kiyani said all the development work has been carried out by the provincial government`s works and communication department instead of the RDA. Even the metro bus project was supervised by the commissioner, and the project management unit arrived from the Punjab chief minister`s office.

`Housing societies start work within the limits of the RDA without getting permission from it. In the absence of an organisation head, it failed to raise issues at the proper forums. The commissioner was assigned the duty to run affairs as the acting director general, but it wasn`t possible for him to do this so problems occurred, he added.

Mr Kiani said: `Ideally, a chairman should be appointed to run the affairs of the RDA instead of a director general, and elected publicrepresentatives shouldlead the organization instead of the bureaucracy.