NA body sets Jan 15 as deadline CDA asked to remove Katchi Abadi in I-11

[Salman]

ISLAMABAD, Dec 13: National Assembly’s sub-committee on the cabinet secretariat on Thursday instructed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration to remove Katchi Abadi (illegal settlements) in Sector I-11by January 15, 2013.

According to a joint survey conducted by CDA and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are 864 families and 7,995 individuals residing in the Kachi Abadi. Among them 1,022 are registered and 254 unregistered Afghan refugees.

The allotment of plots in the sector started in 1990. A total of 2,497 plots of small size were given away to the original settlers, CDA employees and the general public. Some of the original settlers and CDA employees sold their plots but people who purchased them still have to get possession.

Later in June 2009, another package deal was announced because residents of Sorain Village in the area refused to vacate their part of the land.

According to the new package, 1,200 plots were allotted to the people of Sorain Village in Sector I-12.The Committee was briefed that at the moment, 7,995 people who have been living in the sector are not only a hurdle in the development of the sector but also a security threat. Extremists and weapon smugglers also find a safe haven in these Abadis.

Convener of the Committee, MNA Hameedullah Jan Afridi said that people allotted the land have been waiting for their plots for the last two decades, so the issue should be resolved without further delay. He also instructed CDA and ICT administration to give them a deadline for the operation against people residing in Kachi Abadi.

Chief Commissioner Tariq Mehmood Pirzada said that the Kachi Abadi had been vacated twice but it was again occupied.

CDA Member Estate Shaista Sohail said that the civic agency had decided to start counseling in the sector and illegal occupants would be given 10 days to vacate the land.

Hameedullah Jan Afridi said that the operation should be started by January 15, 2013, and in this regard CDA and ICT administration should give an in-camera briefing to the sub-committee in the first week of January.Member of the committee, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry while talking to Dawn expressed his incredulity over the operation.

He said: “In the federal capital, land cannot be occupied without the involvement of the CDA officers.”