SC orders CDA to submit list of affected villagers

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

ISLAMABAD: A three-member Supreme Court bench on Monday directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to prepare a list of 240 genuine affectees of

Sarian and Bokra villages, who will be allotted plots by CDA in return of their acquired land, and submit a report before the court today (Tuesday).

The bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Ch Ijaz Ahmed and Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday was hearing case regarding a mega scam of plots’ allotment by the CDA in Sectors I-11 and I-12.

CDA’s counsel Tariq Mehmood informed the court that land for Sector I-11 was acquired in 1969, and for I-12 in 1966-67. He said in compliance with the court orders, the CDA approached 240 affectees and offered them plots at an alternative place, however now they claimed that they were actually 1,143 instead of 240.

He said the affectees of Sarian and Bokra were creating difficulties for CDA in development of these sectors. The chief justice remarked that instead of giving land to genuine people, the CDA with the connivance of police allotted plots to fake people. Earlier, the court had sought a comprehensive report from CDA about the allotment of plots in Sectors I-11 and I-12.

The CJ had taken a suo motu notice of the matter on a news report alleging that the CDA had embezzled Rs 7 billion in allotment of plots in these sectors.

According to the news report, the CDA in connivance with the police had registered a fake case against the locals who were denied plots in the new award of compensation against their land acquired by CDA.

On the last hearing, the court had noted that the CDA procedure to compensate people did not appear transparent. The court had taken a serious notice when it came to know that CDA had allotted 1997 plots in Sector I-11 to its employees.

The CJ had questioned the CDA that under which law it had allotted 1997 plots to its employees. “You have usurped the right of people,” the CJ had observed. Sarfraz, a representative of the people from whom CDA had acquired the land, had contended that they were denied plots in the award announced on June 8 last year. “CDA threatened us that it would lodge cases against us with the help of police if we resisted evacuation of our properties,” he said.

The court was informed that instead of providing plots to the affected locals, CDA allotted 410 plots to ‘strangers’. Replying a question about the mechanism adopted for compensation to the affected people, the CDA had told the court that a ‘Package Deal’ was initiated for peaceful evacuation of the land. The court had observed that neither the land acquisition nor the CDA laws had mentioned such a ‘Package Deal’.