Land mafia, NIEECHS management, deprive 106 members of Rs 630m

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

ISLAMABAD: In another housing society scam the federal capital land mafia deprived people of Rs 630 million under National Institute of Electronics Employees Cooperative Housing Society (NIEECHS).

The members of the society included 106 retired employees, widows, orphans and elderly people who had invested their lifetime earnings to purchase land for their houses. These members will perhaps never get a chance in their life to get plot.

Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration’s Circle Registrar office has been allegedly favoring the corrupt management of the NIEECHS instead of ensuring justice to allottees.

According to sources, NIEECHS was constituted and registered in 1987 under Cooperative Society Act with Islamabad Register Office. Of it’s all 106 members 99 percent members have paid their dues for procurement of land. During 1987-88 when land was cheaper, NIEECHS purchased 212 kanals of land at the rate of Rs 30,000 to 40,000 per kanal in Mouza Naugazi, Fateh Jang Road, which has been included in zone II after announcement of zonal regulation in 1992 by the Capital Development Authority. NIEECHS got possession of land by fixing barbed wire and settling all major issues related to the land.

Being poor peoples’ cooperative housing society, NIEECHS worked slowly and could not develop the land in due course of time. Later, the management decided to grab the land with the alleged cooperation of land mafia and called general body meeting and proposed to move NIEECHS land on exchange basis. Deputy Registrar, Islamabad, also attended that meeting.

The executive committee proposed that they would invite the interested parties through an open call of interest for exchange of land by advertising it in the newspapers and NIEECHS will exchange the Mouza Naugazi’s land with land in Mouza Mughal Parri. The exchanged land should be free from all snags. The NIEECHS executive body assured the members that such deal was possible as land at Mouza Naugazi more valuable and expensive. They also said that NIEECHS would acquire more land to accommodate its present members whereas the surplus land would be sold to new members at higher rate. It was also said in the meeting that the whole process would be transparent and there will be another committee (free of executives), which will look into the matters concerning evaluation/exchange of land offered by the interested parties.

Sources said although the management assured the members that they would not deceive them, but according to the minutes of general body meeting, a separate committee for land evaluation and exchange was never formulated. NIEECHS never publicised the open call of interest in the newspapers. The executive body unilaterally selected M/s Islamabad Corporation and in May 2008 signed a unilateral agreement with it for the exchange of land. According to deal; NIEECHS agreed to transfer its land to M/s Islamabad Corporation and in response M/s Islamabad Corporation agreed to transfer 230 kanals of land in Mouza Mughal Parri located on Kahuta Road in Zone V to NIEECHS.

M/s Islamabad Corporation was bound to transfer 200 kanals immediately and outstanding 30 kanals within three months, but they transferred scattered land near Radio Pakistan Rawat ignoring that the value of that land was less. It was further mentioned that in case of any breach of agreement, M/s Islamabad Corporation also pledged a cheque for Rs100 million as surety/guaranty to NIEECHS, but it was the turning point as management went for their own interest and it is astonishing that Registrar Office remained silent during sale of land.

They said the agreement was breached in all respect and many times (from May 2008 to till time) because M/s Islamabad Corporation did never ever transfer even one inch of land to NIEECHS in Mouza Mughal Parri. Overstepping all rules and regulation, NIEECH executive body sold all of its land to persons who were sound customers of M/s Islamabad Corporation and facilitated M/s Islamabad Corporation business to steal land transfer taxes. M/s Islamabad Corporation breached the agreement but NIEECHS did not confiscated cheque pledged as the surety/guaranty rather they have favored the firm by entering into agreements one after the other due to which allottees could not get the plots even after 23 years and on the other hand main culprits of the scam are still involved in land business without any fear of law and circle registrar office.