ISLAMABAD – The row between the capital police and the local administration was settled on Friday after the latter voluntarily vacated the office of Additional Deputy Commissioner General for Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Islamabad.
Meanwhile, a high-level committee, formed by former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, looking into the affairs of those buildings lying vacant due to the devolution of ministries to the provinces as a result of 18th Amendment has allocated a building located in Sector H-9 for the office of local administration, Previously, the building was lying vacant after the devolution of education ministry while one of its portions is still under the use of Curriculum Wing of the ministry that is working illegally after the devolution process.
A tug-of-war had erupted between the two offices when the local administration had refused to vacate the rooms under the use of Additional Deputy Commissioner General (ADCG) office at ground floor at the newly constructed Islamabad Capital Territory Administration (ICTA) Complex.
However, Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Amer Ali Ahmed dispelled the impression saying that there was not any kind of row between the ICT Administration and the capital police. He informed that ADCG office had been shifted at the first floor of ICTA Complex and the office under his use had been given to SSP Islamabad.
He said that the local administration itself had invited the SSP Islamabad to shift his office to the ICT Complex so there was no question of row on the issue. “We want that SSP office should be with us to solve the day-to-day matters through quick response,” he added.
He said another reason was that the local administration had to pay Rs50 million in the shape of rents for its offices located in F-8 and the administration wanted to lessen this burden on the national kitty.
“Our focus is to shift most of the offices from the rented building to those ones that was lying vacant for more than a year as a result of the devolution of ministries to the provinces,” the Deputy Commissioner asserted. He said that according to a rough estimate, the government had to bear Rs 2.5 billion in the form of expenditures for the construction of another building for ICT offices. “We want to save this money by shifting offices in the old building,” he informed. He said that some of the offices of local administration would be shifted to the building located in Sector H-9 that has recently been allotted to it.
Previously, the same tug-of-war had erupted between the local administration and the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) when some months ago the Prime Minister Secretariat had allocated the same building situated in Sector H-9 to the former and the latter refused to vacate it. Imtiaz Enayat Elahi, Secretary CADD at that time, had personally involved into the matter and refused to give occupation to the ICT Administration denying PM Secretariat orders in black and white.
CADD had made a plea that the building under the use of Curriculum Wing of the devolved ministry of education could not been handed over to local administration. The local administration had been insisting that CADD had ignored PM’s orders and the existence of the Curriculum Wing of the ministry of education was unconstitutional after its devolution. However, Deputy Commissioner says that now the government has allocated all buildings for the offices of administration except in the premises that is under the use of Curriculum Wing.