RAWALPINDI: Station commander Brig. Salman Nazar, while presiding over a meeting, issued a directive to the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) to establish a committee to address the issues of property tax and encroachments.
As per the details, the committee would be mandated to coordinate with cantonment traders and resolve issues related to property tax, encroachments, and non-payment of dues.
The station commander stated that he would keep an eye on the committee and its efficiency in observing the directives.
Nazar remarked that it is RCB’s responsibility to provide civic services for the inhabitants and to create an atmosphere that is favorable to economic activity in cantonment regions.
He stated that the Cantonment Act of 1924’s property tax problems would be resolved by a committee, and the RCB would offer its suggestions on the policy.
Furthermore, he also discussed other key areas such as taxation, sanitization, street lighting, public restrooms, parking, road development and maintenance, and the lack of burial sites.
Moreover, the issues of Tench Bhatta were also brought up by traders, and the station commander instructed the RCB officers to visit the area and report back to him within 3-4 days.
The meeting was informed that the RCB had finished purchasing the garbage containers and cleaning equipment needed and that a private company had been recruited to carry the waste gathered from the streets and roads to a disposal site.
Besides, the station commander addressed the encroachment issue by stating that the municipal body would apply a zero-tolerance policy against them and that the enforcement cell had been instructed to conduct an operation without bias.
He claimed that every effort still required assistance from the business community and explained that the municipal organization had been tasked with making sure that all street lights would be functional for the convenience of the public.
It was also revealed that RCB had already set aside 200 Kanal of land for the cantonment area cemetery, while funeral vehicles would be purchased to take the deceased and funeral attendees from their houses to the new cemetery.
To give residents improved amenities, the business community was requested to raise awareness among its members about unauthorized development, encroachment, and drains.
