CDA set to establish academy on H-11 graveyard land

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

* Civic body’s board approves plan to set up Disaster Management Training Academy
* Spokesman says graveyard to be extended to adjacent sector

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Capital Development Authority (CDA), an organisation tainted with deeds of corruption, has decided to establish a training institute and an academy on the land earmarked for graveyard, reliable sources told Daily Times on Friday.

The CDA board in its last meeting approved the plan to establish the training institute on the land allocated for graveyard in sector H-11 and directed the department concerned to prepare the PC-1 of the pr new initiative, which is likely to be opposed by the residents of the capital.

The residents were facing hardships over the last many years due to unavailability of land in the sector H-8 graveyard for the burial of their loved ones.

Taking notice of this genuine problem, the federal government earmarked 100 acres of land in Sector H-11 for the new graveyard to cater to the needs of the residents.

The CDA officials, who are used to occupy the public land, did not spare the deceased and are now all set to encroach upon the land specified for the graveyard to set up a training institute, the sources said.

During the board meeting, all members were anxious to accord approval to this new initiative and none of them stood to defend the right of the deceased, the sources said.

Talking to Daily Times, Spokesman for CDA Ramzam Sajid confirmed that the training institute was being set up on the graveyard land in Sector H-11 for the training of Disaster Management Directorate staff.

Sajid said the CDA board had approved this new project. He said as compensation, the graveyard would be extended to the adjacent sector.

He said the training academy was necessary for the training of 539 employees of Disaster Management Directorate, which was created after 2005 earthquake that caused huge loss in the capital. He said the trained staff would be ready to mitigate the gravity of any sort of natural calamities. The CDA is not ignorant of the need of the graveyard and the civic body would come up to the expectation of the residents, he added.

He said the disaster management staff needed to be stationed in the centre of the city and keeping it in view the CDA board decided to establish the academy in sector H-11. He said all type of machinery would be available there to meet any disaster incidents.