A parliamentary panel constituted a committee on Wednesday to settle compensation related disputes of Capital Development Authority (CDA) with the affectees of sector E-12 of Islamabad. The CDA's committee will be headed by Member Estate Khushal Khan.
The meeting of sub-committee on government assurance was convened in the CDA under the chairmanship of Abdul Majeed Khan Khanan Khail to discuss the stalled development in sector E-12 and matters related to compensation of the affected land owners. The CDA announced sector E-12 in the 1970s and acquired land for around 5000 proposed housing units to be provided to citizens in 1985. Spreading over 777.27 acres, the land consists of 6 Mauzas, Dharek Mohri, Bhakar Mohri, Bhakkar Fateh Baksh, Bara Darri, Sari Saral and Golra Sharif.
"Around 90 percent people have already been compensated through allocation of alternate plots, while around 1200 out of a total of 1900 had also received monetary compensation against claims of their built-up properties, but after passage of 25 years, their generations are still unwilling to handover the possession of land to the CDA," Member Planning and Design Asad Mehboob Kiani told the committee.
He informed that a meeting with elected representative of the area was also held but it proved to be a fruitless effort. The committee members criticised absence of acting chairman CDA, Islamabad Mayor Sheikh Ansar Aziz and Deputy Mayors Syed Zeshan Shah and Chaudhry Riffat Mehmood from the meeting and directed them to ensure their presence in the next meeting, as both deputy mayors belong to same area the committee is working on.
Mover of a calling attention notice in the National Assembly regarding non-development of said sector, MNA Shair Akbar said, "The CDA had spent millions of rupees on advertisement for the promotion of said sector but has failed to handover the possession of even a single plot so far."
Abdul Majeed Khan said while citing his own experience, "Corruption is a major hurdle in the functioning of the CDA and without bribery, nothing is possible here." The newly appointed Member Estate CDA has requested the committee to give him 2 months' time to proceed in the matter, but was rejected by the convenor of committee who said, "We are not asking you to settle 35 years old disputes in days but we need day-to-day progress on the matter."
MNA Malik Abrar said, "The meeting should be held after one week in which the State Minister for Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and notables of aforementioned areas should also be invited." The CDA was directed that in the meantime a committee comprising CDA officers and representatives of ICT administration should work out a feasible solution to the problem and submit a report in next meeting of the committee.