Morgah City Islamabad affectees seek implementation of SC orders

[CMY]

Morgah City Islamabad affectees seek implementation of SC orders

The affected people of a housing society who have lost their hard earned money to the housing scheme have called for implementation of a decision of the Supreme Court so that they could get back payment or allotment letters of their plots.



Lieutenant Colonel ® Faiz Rasul, like many other affected people, have sent an application to the chief justice of Pakistan with a request for action against the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and management of the Matracon (private) Limited, which had launched the housing society namely Morgah City Islamabad. “It is a mega scandal of looting over 1,200 innocent people who are members of the society and have deposited over Rs4 billion but in return got nothing,” he said.



He said that he wanted allotment of a plot measuring 500 yards to him for which he had deposited Rs350,000 as down payment in November 2004.



He said that he was told that the developed plot would be handed over to him by November 2006 but till date he had not received allotment letter of the plot.



“Later, I came to know that the NoC for the layout plan of the housing society has been cancelled with connivance of the society so that they do not have to allot plots to the people or return payments to them,” he said.



He said that management of the housing society is raising a mega commercial building in Blue Area with the amount minted from members of the society. “I request the apex court to attach this commercial plot which he purchased in Blue Area from CDA in open auction as guarantee till the affected people get justice,” he said.



He said it would also be a set case for the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to probe into. It may be pointed out here that the three-member bench headed by former Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry in its orders on Human Rights case No. 22797-P of 2011 filed by an affected person, Farooq Ahmed, issued on June 26, 2012, stated that the company Matracon Private Limited has agreed either to give plots or return the money received from the litigants/claimants within 15 days. However, in the meanwhile the CDA has cancelled the layout plan of the society, therefore, observation is made that let the Matracon and the Director General (Planning) may convene a meeting and if the meeting is not encouraging, the company shall make the payment of the amounts received from the members or claimants within a period of two weeks,” the apex court’s order said.



However, till date the affected members of the society have neither received their refunds nor got allotment letters of plots from the housing society. “ They are making refunds to some selected members,” he said.



Matracon Private Limited Manager (Estate) Major ® Hameedullah Khan whose name is also mentioned in Supreme Court’s order, when contacted, rejecting allegations said that they have not been able to start development at site of the project as the members have stopped making further payments after depositing the seed money.



He said the court had directed that either the housing society should hand over plots to the members or refund their payments. “So far, we have refunded payments to 60 to 70 members who applied for the same,” he said.



He also rejected an impression that there was any connivance between CDA and Matrocon Private Limited behind cancellation of the layout plan.



Hameedullah refused to take any responsibility of the affected people and asked this correspondent to talk to other officials of the housing society.



Another official of Matracon Private Limited requesting not to be named said they would allot plots to the members only when the CDA withdraws cancellation of NoC of the layout plan.



About demand of the affectees to mortgage Blue Area plot, the official of the private firm said the plot has nothing to do with the housing scheme. “we are not cheating them,” he said.



An official of the CDA said there was no connivance with the society in withdrawal of NoC of the housing scheme. “The NoC was withdrawn as the land mortgaged with the CDA was already mortgaged with a bank,” he said. He said it is not the CDA but the housing society which should allot plots to the members.