Islamabad: Land mafia a challenge for CDA

[Naveed Yaseen]

Mobarik A. Virk
No where in the country the ‘land mafia’ or the menace of encroachments could be so outrageously rampant and blatantly challenging the concerned authorities as these are in the federal capital, ‘Islamabad - The Beautiful’!

One very prominent land developer, whose company is engaged in executing a number of ‘housing schemes’ in the federal capital, threw a bold challenge at the Capital Development Authority (CDA) as well as the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Administration and Islamabad Police when he said that they would never be able to take over the possession of Sector G-12 because of the high number of encroachments there!

“Leave alone this Sector G-12, I would bet anything if the CDA may manage to get the strip running along the Service Road parallel to Sectors G-11 and F-11 vacated from this ‘land mafia’ who patronise these encroachers! It is simply impossible under the existing Land Acquisition Policy of the CDA.

“They can never create as many commercial plots in any sector to accommodate the number of these people who have set up all sorts of shops/workshops/stores/service stations and what not,” the gentleman said, preferring not to be named.

“In fact the CDA would need to open more than a sector to create enough commercial and residential plots to allot to these people as ‘compensation’ who have grabbed the land on this strip in stark violation of the laws of the land. Not only that these people have grabbed CDA’s land, they are playing havoc with the civic amenities as they have established illegal power connections, gas connections and even water connections directly from the 18 inch diameter supply line while the inhabitants of these sectors are craving for a bucketful of water every day,” he pointed out.

He alleged that all this was made possible with open connivance of the concerned staff of the CDA, who instead of trying to prevent the new such encroachments/land grabbing and uprooting the ones established already, prefer to cast a blind eye to the problem that has already gone beyond salvage position.

“There must be over a couple of thousand such illegal structures set up on this strip alone. According to the existing ‘Land Acquisition Policy’ of the CDA the Authority is bound to give not only the alternate plot to these land grabbers but compensate them with cash for the built up property too. From where the CDA will create so many plots and the required funds is anybody’s guess,” he said.

On the other hand, he added, these people who have encroached upon the public land have become so strong that they don’t hesitate to react violently to any move by the CDA, the ICT Administration or even the Islamabad Police had always beaten back any attempt to dislodge them from the land that they had grabbed.

“They are heavily armed and most surprisingly they are backed by different political groups too, who immediately come to their aid whenever the CDA tries to remove these encroachments. It would not be much improper if we may compare this with the infamous ‘Sohrab Goth’ of Karachi as behind the scenes this place has already become a den of narcotics and illegal arms. And yet hardly anybody seems eager to pay attention to this problem that has already blown out of all proportions and gaining strength with each passing day,” he alleged.

While the CDA must be having its own reasons not take action against these illegal land grabbers, even more shocking is the inaction of the Islamabad Police because it is hardly any secret that this particular place has already become a safe heaven for all kind of criminals, from petty thieves to hardened criminals like killers/assassins, drug smugglers, drug peddlers, illegal arms dealers.

So, if it has become a ‘den’ of terrorists, be those Taliban or whatever, it would hardly be surprise. The recent terror attack in which the terrorists ambushed and killed the Brigadier of Pakistan Army and his driver and injured his guard while they were coming out of their home clearly indicate that this place has become a den of these terrorists already!

The Islamabad Police and the Intelligence Agencies are engaged in monitoring the in and outflow of traffic/people to and from the federal capital but hardly paying any attention to this massive problem that is simmering in their lap.

It is intriguing as to why the Interior Ministry or the Islamabad Administration or the Islamabad Police, or the intelligence agencies have not asked the CDA to remove these illegal encroachments from public land.

May be simply because it may need as big an operation as the one going on in South Waziristan right now to get this piece of land cleared from the clutches of the ‘land mafia’!

The concerned officials in the CDA, when contacted told ‘The News’ that they had tried a number of times in the past to remove these encroachments but every time these people ‘throw a spanner’ when they bring ‘stay orders’ from the courts of law, preventing the Authority from taking any meaningful action.

“There are thousands of these illegal occupants and every time we tried to launch an anti-encroachment/demolition operation to clear this area one or the other encroacher would get a stay order from the court of law and then the long process of litigation in the court would start,” the CDA spokesman said.

He said that while being the government agency the CDA has to follow the orders of the court of law in letter and spirit there is no such binding on these illegal land grabbers, who feel encouraged and grab more land and create more structures overnight!

He said that it is essential that the CDA get full support not only from the courts of law while dealing with these encroachers/land grabbers but from the Islamabad City Administration as well as the Islamabad Police.

“Without the support of these institutions the CDA alone would not be able to deal with this menace which is gaining mass every day and has already become a serious security threat to the inhabitants of the federal capital and the recent terror strike on this G-11-G-12/F-11-F-12 Service Road should be an eye-opener for all concerned,” the CDA spokesman said.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=205231