Park Enclave development hits snags

[Salman]

Park Enclave development hits snags

ISLAMABAD – City managers are apparently shy to make headway in resolving longstanding issues pertaining to the development of Park Enclave, a housing society announced by the Capital Development Authority a year ago, furthering the reservations of investors, who are now refusing to pay instalments anymore until visible development on the site.

Though the Authority was already utilising the funds more than its specific limit from the accounts of Park Enclave, a recent decision of CDA Board that allowed the city managers to divert the funds submitted by the allottees to run Authority’s day-to-day affairs has put a question mark against CDA’s fast sinking credibility.

As the Cabinet Division has already turned down a request of CDA where the Authority has sought one time waiver in rules after hiring Nespak as consultant for this project on single tender basis, so still there is no apparent advancement over the issue.

In the absence of any formal agreement with Nespak, the body has already stopped providing any consultancy regarding to project to CDA.

A month ago when Nespak has announced that not even a single out of four pre-qualified firms for designing and building of the Park Enclave has technically qualified to carryout the project - the city managers have announced that CDA would execute the project itself.

Structure Wing of the Authority - whose operations are overseen by the Planning Wing of the Authority - were asked by the city managers to initiate work on the Package-I - construction of boundary wall and access road to Park Enclave - and estimations a few days ago.

Ill-prepared staffers of the structure wing, however, come up with an idea to construct 4.5-inch thick and five feet high boundary wall, while the cost they estimated for this work was Rs 20 million. All the work done by the structure wing officials was based on routine practices and without visiting the site of the project, an official said.

Resultantly, the Chairman CDA rejected the paper work and estimations done by the CDA officials using their “expertise” and now directed the concerned quarters to do the Package-I inline with the pre-cost construction of boundary wall.

Upon failure the city managers excluded the work of access road from Package-I and kept it to construction of boundary wall only. Tenders submitted by firms to execute the package-I would be opened on May 21 after that the work of boundary wall to be awarded to lowest bidder.

While on the other hand the investors are demanding reimbursement of their money that they have paid so far to the CDA in this regard. But the city managers have nothing to say to them instead CDA accounts are empty and that there is no money to pay them back.

By the end of January 2012, CDA had received Rs 1734.38 million from applicants on account of price of plots in Park Enclave Scheme. But now the situation is otherwise as Finance Wing of the Authority in the absence of any comprehensive income generation strategy has continuously been drawing money from Park Enclave accounts