Over 6,000 acres of CDA's land grabbed by mafia

[Salman]

Land mafia has grabbed 6,819 acres (54,552 kanals) of land worth billions of rupees in different parts of Islamabad due to negligence of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and other departments concerned. "The land mafia has grabbed or encroached upon CDA's land mostly in the suburbs of the city in connivance with the Authority officials. The land grabbers have encroached upon CDA land at Taramari Chowk, Sangjani, Pirwadhai Mor, Faizabad and Bhara Kahu", an official source told Business Recorder.

Source said that CDA, since its inception, has faced the menace of encroachment by influential persons and land grabbers affiliated with one political party or the other, as well as civil and military bureaucracy. Several acres of CDA land had been under cultivation by locals and the civic body was charging them nothing, the source said.

The source added that the land mafia has encroached upon CDA land at various stalled sectors including D-12, E-11, I-14, I-15 and I-16 and C-13 with the Authority failing to develop these sectors in spite of the passage of several years. The civic agency has made several plans to get the land vacated but all in vain, he said. The official said that capital territory is spread over an area of 906 square kilometres. The population of the area was 100,000 in 1951 (before the capital was established), and reached 1.01 million in 1999, and now city population has crossed 1.8 million, it said.

The source maintained that the CDA developed sectors E to I in 1992, and the government also allowed private housing societies to launch housing schemes in Zone 2, 4, and 5. Since the housing societies flourished in the federal capital, not only did land disputes multiply but also paved the way for land grabbers to encroach upon state land, sources said.

The official said that the CDA has not yet issued 'no objection certificates' to five housing schemes in Zone-2, 31 housing schemes in Zone-4 and seven housing schemes in Zone-5. When contacted, CDA spokesman said that the CDA enforcement directorate has launched operation against the encroachers and land grabbers and would soon succeed in vacating the CDA's encroached upon land.

http://www.brecorder.com/business-a-econ...9/1236918/