CDA director arrested for allotting plots illegally

[Salman]

ISLAMABAD, April 29: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Monday arrested Director Enforcement of Capital Development Authority (CDA) on charges of allotting 24 plots of Rs750 million in Sector I-8 illegally.

On the other hand, the CDA chairman has instructed the departments concerned to cooperate with the FIA and ordered the member finance of CDA Azhar Ali to conduct a detailed inquiry into the scandal, Dawn has learnt.

An officer of the CDA on condition of anonymity said that the FIA team arrested Director Enforcement Naveedul Haq and shifted him to head office for investigation.

“In January 2013, plots were allotted to 109 officers of the CDA, though majority of them were on deputation, which led to the protest by the CDA union,” he said.

The union had the objection that the management of the CDA was allotting plots to deputationists but ignoring regular employees who have been working in civic agency for decades, he said.

“A few days ago, FIA learnt that Mr Naveed dropped 20 names from the list and included another 24 names including his own name in the list of allottees and then issued offer letters to all the allottees.

During initial investigation it was learnt that all 24 persons were not entitled to the plots,” he said.

According to rules, a deputationist can get plot after one year of his service in CDA but names of Director General Admin Laique Yousafzai and Director Human Resource Muhammad Ali were included, although they did not fulfill the service length criterion, he said.

An officer in administration wing of CDA requesting anonymity said that the initial investigation had identified Deputy Directors Syed Hakeem Raza Zaidi, Ali Murtaza Bukhari, Dr Hamid and officer of Capital Hospital Mohammad Waheed as being involved in fake allotments.

“While balloting for the allotment of plots was being done in Convention Centre in 2012, CDA union office-bearers reached there and got the process stopped.

Later, officers went to a hostel of a university and did the balloting there. In the end they also added undeserving names in the list. They also tried to convince present Chairman CDA Syed Tahir Shahbaz to add his name in the list but chairman refused, he said.

“Each plot in Sector I-8 is worth Rs35 million. With this price one can easily estimate what would be the volume of corruption,” he said.

When contacted the CDA spokesman, Malik Saleem, confirmed that director enforcement was arrested by FIA on Monday.
However, he said that CDA management was already probing the case of corruption.

“Former member environment Dr Kazim had started inquiry into the scandal and he did not only identify the suspects but also suggested action against them,” he said.

“On instructions of the CDA chairman, now member finance, Azhar Ali Chaudhry has been conducting detailed inquiry,” he said, adding not a single culprit will be spared.