Land allotment: Deputationists lose CDA largesse

[Salman]

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday declared some sections of Islamabad Land Disposal Regulations (ILDR) 2005 illegal.

The ILDR sections entitled the officers working on deputation in the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to the rights similar to those enjoyed by the regular employees.

The court gave verdict while disposing of seven identical petitions filed by former and current CDA officials against the allotment of plots to the deputationists and inclusion of their names in the seniority list.

The court ruled that Sections 2(f), 4 and 5 of ILDR were illegal. They allowed the deputationists similar facilities which were meant for the regular CDA employees.

As a result, the officials of other departments working on deputation in the civic body were entitled to the plots in different residential schemes of Islamabad.

Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation (FGEHF) on April 24, 1990 had decided to allot 20 per cent residential plots to the CDA officials in each residential scheme of Islamabad.

The share of federal government employees in the residential schemes was 80 per cent.

In 2005, the then CDA chairman Kamran Lashari amended the ILDR, permitting the officers who were working in the CDA on deputation to avail of the 20 per cent share in residential plots.

According to the section 2(f) of amended IDLR, a CDA officer and a deputationist of grade 17 and above were entitled to a plot provided they have completed 10 years and one year service.

The regular employees of BPS-1 to 16 were eligible for the allotment after completion of eight years service in the CDA.

The IHC ruled that the employees of the federal government working in CDA might be allotted plots in Islamabad from their 80 per cent share and not from 20 per cent.

In June last year former and incumbent CDA officials had challenged the balloting for the allotment of 109 plots to the senior officers of the CDA in which 23 were working in the CDA on deputation.

For allotment of plots, director-general FGEHF had set certain terms and conditions, and among them the principle of seniority was the integral part.

In June 2012, when the CDA started allotment of 109 plots to the senior officers including the deputationists the retired and serving officers and the CDA employees challenged the balloting in the IHC.

The petitions asserted that initially, it was compulsory for a deputationist to serve CDA for continuous three years to become eligible for a plot but this period was drastically reduced from three to two years and then one year and at present deputationists were being allotted plots on completing only six months service in the CDA.

The court also declared that the seniority list prepared by the civic body for the allotment of the plots was also not fair and directed the CDA authorities to prepare a fresh list.

He also ordered the CDA chairman to supervise the preparation of the list to ensure transparency and fairness.