ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Standing Committee on Government Assurance expressed serious concern over the slow pace of development of E-12 Sector Islamabad and directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to expedite the development work and to take action against land mafia and land grabbers.
The members of the Committee also expressed resentment over the poor performance of the CDA for maintenance, repair and cleanliness of Parliament Lodges.
The committee met with MNA Muhammad Afzal Khokhar in the chair at Parliament House on Monday. The committee discussed the issues relating to the development and handover of possession of Sector E-12 plots to the allottees, who had paid full price and development charges.
The committee was informed that more than 35 years have passed but the CDA has not yet allotted plots in Sector E-12 to the allottees, despite taking the amount of plots from former government employees.
The CDA staff said that the development work was started in Sector E-12 in 2020, but the encroachment mafia has illegally occupied most of the land in the sector and they are not allowing the contractor to work.
The members of the committee asked if the mafia was already occupying the land then how the contract was given for the development of the Sector E-12. They said that it seems that the CDA officers initially give the contract at low prices with collusion and afterwards with the help of illegal occupants, revise the development plan and award the contract at a higher price which harmed the interests of the people.
Therefore, the committee directed the CDA to complete the development work of Sector E-12 as soon as possible and the plots should be handed over to the allottees.
The committee was informed that some employees of the police, PTV, and Radio Pakistan and some other institutions have not yet been paid the honorarium of the budget 2022-23 who performed their duties during the budget session of the National Assembly.
The committee chairman constituted a four-member sub-committee headed by MNA Syed Javed Hasnain to review the performance of the CDA, especially the cleaning and repair of Parliament Lodges and to implement the payment of honorarium to the employees. The sub-committee will include MNAs Syed Javed Ali Shah, Shagufta Jumani, and Saira Bano.
The meeting was attended by MNAs Chaudhry Armaghan Subhani, Usman Ibrahim, Syed Javed Hasnain, Syed Javed Ali Shah Jilani, Shagufat Jamani, Shahnaz, Naseer Baloch, Saira Bano, and others. Senior civil officers of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, the CDA, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and other institutions also participated in the meeting.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023