Land owners still wait for compensation

[Salman]

Land owners still wait for compensation

ISLAMABAD - Owing to the poor and wrong policies adopted by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) high-ups, the issue of compensation to the residents of Golra Sharif, whose land has been acquired by the civic body more than two decade ago for development of controversial Sector E-11, cannot be resolved so far, it has been learnt.
A CDA official, seeking anonymity, told Pakistan Today that many owners of the land in Sector E-11 got compensation for more than one time, adding that due to the same reason some real owners had been deprived from their right.
“Some of the residents have drag authority into litigation and some are still trying to get include their names in the award lists despite the fact that CDA is not ready to pay any more compensation to the people whose land has been acquired for the Sector E-11,” he added.
The CDA started the development work in Sector E-11 in a joint venture with private housing societies, but the apex court stop the authority from doing so by declaring it as a sham deal and eyewash.
In some cases, he said, the actual owners of the land had died as the issue of acquiring of land was more than decade old and their legal heirs could not even succeeded to get their names included in award lists.
However, the stakeholders of the country also direct the CDA not to acquire land of Golra Sharif for any sector, but even after that many housing societies got the land of the same area. “Now, the people whose land has been acquired by the CDA have possession of the land but they cannot sale their property as the civic body has snatched their legal right,” he added.
Talking to Pakistan Today, CDA spokesman Ramzan Sajid said the issue had been resolved, adding that the said sector was allocated for housing societies and the CDA had around 400-kanal of land in the area. “Yes, there were directives from the president not to acquire land of Golra Sharif for development of any sector,” he said.
However, the reality is that a huge land of Golra has been acquired by the authority for Sector E-11 which later become controversial and many of the affectees are waiting for compensation and plots.