The Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration has conceived a Rs 20 million-project to undertake satellite survey of the capital for better planning and law and order, an official said.
The ICT has forwarded PC-I to the Islamabad Development Committee and later on it will be sent to the Planning Commission for final approval. Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Amir Ahmed Ali, while talking to Pakistan Today, confirmed that ICT administration was going to conduct a satellite survey of the capital. He said that the Survey of Pakistan would assist ICT for conducting the satellite survey.
“The survey will help local administration for better planning. It will also help in knowing the location of important buildings, institutions, roads and short-cuts. It will help in improving law enforcement,” he said. Islamabad has an estimated population of 1.6 million. The federal area is divided in two parts, the urban areas and rural areas. The ICT is supposed to look after the development of rural areas of the city comprising of 14 union councils, while the Capital Development Authority (CDA) is supposed to develop urban areas of the capital.
The ICT administration has complete mapping of the urban areas but the problem arises in rural areas, where they do not have complete knowledge on the less traveled roads. Furthermore, the population of the rural areas is on the rise and developments are taking place in a haphazard manner. When asked about the deadline of the project, the DC said that the project was on initial stages and once the Planning Commission approved it, in a few months it would be completed.
He said that this survey would be helpful for the development of the city. The city administration had floated the idea for satellite imaging survey in 2008. The plan was rejected owing to its estimated cost of Rs 50 million. However this time, the ICT administration contacted the Survey of Pakistan, which assured it that the project would be completed at a cost of Rs 20 million.