National Assembly Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development summoned DCO Islamabad, revenue officers Islamabad, chairman CDA and FWO high-ups to resolve the issues of OPF Housing Scheme Zone-V Islamabad, for its timely completion. The committee met here on Friday under the chairmanship of MNA Mir Aamer Ali Khan Magsi.
Even after passage of 2 decades, OPF Housing Scheme is a standstill project which is deprived of basic facilities, the committee observed. The OPF made the housing society for overseas Pakistanis in Zone-V of the federal capital, covering thousands of Kanals of land, and the foundation had spent billions of rupees taken from potential residents, but after 23 years the society is still deprived of facilities of water and road access, the committee observed. Moreover, the land acquired still needs to be taken possession of by the OPF.
However, DG Housing and Works Sajid Mahmood Qazi briefed that the OPF has decided to purchase 10 to 50 kanals of land for installation of tube-well as an alternate source of water at the cost of Rs 800 million. To meet the initial demands, he briefed that water source within OFP scheme area had been developed in December 2016, having capacity of 10,000 gallons per day.
He briefed that 4 overhead and 4 underground water reservoirs have been completed so far, but the work on water transmission line outside the scheme along Japan Road is held up due to intervention of miscreants. He further informed the committee that Islamabad Electricity Supply Company (IESCO) had been requested to take over the possession of plot for construction of grid station within the OPF scheme, whereby the IESCO has desired to get substitute plot as the plot falls in depression.
He informed the committee that during a meeting of managing director OPF with secretary IBECHS held on February 20, 2017, it was agreed that IBECHS will construct the 1st access road, which will be 60-feet wide, to link OPF scheme by April 2016 and the 2nd access road will be constructed by December 2017. The IBECHS also agreed to issue the allotment of 76 plots with plot numbers, including location plan, he added.
MNA Shagufta Jumani said that the society had been launched in 1995 and after passage of 22 years, it is still showing no progress. The society is deprived of basic facilities like water, electricity, gas, roads, school, colleges, community centres and health centres, she added. MNA Sheikh Salahuddin, however, recommended forwarding the case to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), to which Aisha and Aliya Kamran endorsed. Sajid Qazi informed that the case has already been forwarded to the Prime Minister Inspection Commission to initiate a probe into corruption of billions of rupees in the OPF Housing Society through NAB and FIA.
Giving the details, he told the committee that when the housing society was launched, the land was procured at the rate of Rs 55,000 per kanal, which was sold out to overseas Pakistanis. The contract of land development was awarded to the FWO, which took a hefty amount from the OPF but did nothing except killing the time. The housing society proved to be a goldmine for the big bosses of the OPF. When the NAB took former director of the society into its custody, he escaped punishment by paying Rs 10 million under a plea bargain. The NAB had clearly instructed the authorities concerned to terminate his services, but no managing director complied with the orders.
Now, the former director has established a private office of property, dealing in the building of the OPF. A few months back, when the Supreme Court gave a verdict in the plea bargain case, it became compulsory for the department to remove him from service.