Islamabad: CDA told to monitor housing societies

[Naveed Yaseen]

ISLAMABAD: Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat on Tuesday directed Capital Development Authority (CDA) to ensure proper monitoring of the housing societies operating in various zones of the city.

The committee met here at the Parliament House under chairmanship of Senator Shahid Hassan Bugti. It expressed concern over slow pace and poor quality of development work being carried out by these housing societies.

“CDA cannot absolve itself of the responsibility in this regard. It should keep a vigilant eye on these societies. Poor and innocent people have invested billions of rupees on a hope to construct a house,” observed the chair.

The committee instructed the CDA to ensure that development work was carried out in accordance with approved layout plan and engineering designs and each and every stage of work was being monitored.

The matter regarding housing societies was referred to the committee by the Senate. The committee also directed the authority to submit with it all record relevant to these societies in its next meeting.

However, when contacted, Senator Talha Mehmood, who raised the issue in the Senate, expressed dissatisfaction over CDA replies to the parliamentary body and vowed to continue pursuing the case to meet its logical end.

Zero Point Overhead Bridge: The committee also looked into the matter of award of contract of Zero Point Overhead Bridge to a blacklisted firm as referred to by the Senate. Senior officials of the CDA informed the committee that the contract was given to M/s ECIL in December 2006 nearly about one year before the collapse of Sher Shah Bridge in Karachi and all necessary formalities were completed in this regard.

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