CDA directed to produce payment record of I-17, H-16

[Salman]

CDA directed to produce payment record of I-17, H-16

Islamabad



Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) here on Thursday directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to produce payment schedule before the court on February 27 in the matter of local landowners (affected persons) of sectors I-17 and H-16.



Justice Siddiqui directed the CDA director (land) and director (finance) to appear before the court alongwith payment schedule.



The IHC bench directed the CDA to pay the affected persons whose compensations against the land were not disputed and admitted by the CDA.



More than 700 petitioners, hailing from eight villages of Islamabad which were announced to be developed as sectors I-17 and H-16, had filed a contempt of court petition through their lawyer Malik Tariq Noon.



The petitioners contended before the court that the civic body had announced land award for these sectors on January 15, 2009, but despite a lapse of five years, the payment has not been made to the local landowners while huge sum of money was paid to two influential parties who were mere investors.



The counsel of the petitioners told the court that a bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC), Rawalpindi Registry, had decided in favour of the petitioners on September 16, 2010 directing the CDA to pay the compensation amount. The LHC bench had also dismissed CDA’s intra-court appeal. Despite the fact, the CDA has not yet paid compensation to the petitioners.



The CDA had announced award for 16,500-kanal land against 0.830 million rupees per kanal. The compensation was to be paid to the local residents of the villages Noon, Bhadhana Kalan, Jhangi Syedan, Bajnial, Kot Kolian, Lakho, Nehrala and Sheikhpur. The petitioners prayed to the court to direct the CDA to pay compensation amount to the affected persons. The court would take up the matter on Thursday (February 27).