CDA chairman makes promise of 2,000 plots

[Salman]

CDA chairman makes promise of 2,000 plots

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman has finally claimed to allot more than 2,000 plots to its retired employees who are running from pillar to post for getting their rights. However, the employees are still doubtful about the chairman’s promise. In a recent meeting held by CDA Chairman Engineer Farkhand Iqbal with the retired employees at a convention center, the former had assured the latter of allotment of plots, Pakistan Today learnt reliably. However, the CDA officials opine that it is difficult for the authority to allocate such a large number of plots to its ex-employees as the CDA has not enough land. Moreover, cases of balloting of plots to the CDA employees were also pending before the apex court and the high court, they further said.
The officials said as the ex-employees were protesting in favour of their demands for the last many days, it caused media criticism against the CDA chief. He made some promises with the authority’s former employees just to get timely relief from the resentments against him (CDA chairman), they maintained, adding the plots had been created for them but balloting was yet to be carried out.
Giving some details of the meeting, another official said that initially the chairman had assured of allotting 2,100 plots to the authority’s ex-employees.
The civic body also faced some criticism over allotting a large number of plots to its employees. On this, a petition was filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the earlier allotment of 4,000 plots to CDA employees. The petition filed through Liaqat Banori stated that CDA was bound to develop the city on the acquired land and being the trusty of land it was its responsibility to be fair.
The petitioner accused the CDA of usurping the public property to benefit its high-ups, influential persons and employees. “The CDA had introduced a discriminatory five percent quota in the Land Disposal Regulations 2005 for the allotment of land to its employees. It also blackmailed the housing foundations and housing societies, and managed to reserve for itself 20 percent quota in their plots,” the petition stated.
Referring to earlier allotments of 4,500 plots, the petitioner said it damaged the city’s environment because a number of open spaces and green belts were converted into residential plots.
A reliable source said that no one could rule out the impression that new CDA chief may also fail in fulfilling his claim. The ex-employees served for more than 30 years in the CDA and they were equally entitled to allotment of plots like serving employees of the civic body, he added. The official further told that a summary that was to be forwarded to the chairman by the planning wing of CDA was also not approved yet. He said the CDA stakeholders were under pressure from its serving employees to allot them plots but the balloting was stayed by the IHC after some employees moved the court against the process.
Talking to Pakistan Today, Raja Saleem, who led the retired employees, said the cases pending before the court belonged only to the serving employees. Appreciating the move of CDA chairman, he Saleem said the CDA chief had assured them of 2,100 plots and it balloting would also be held soon. The chairman had taken a practical initiative in front of them by directing the DG planning to make summary in this regard, he added. When contacted, CDA Director General Planning Ghulam Sarwar Sandhu said the case was pending in the Supreme Court and the authority was waiting for its final verdict