ISLAMABAD – The Islamabad High Court Monday ordered to attach all the accounts of Capital Development Authority while putting a bar on payment of salaries to CDA directors and above level officers for non-payment of compensation to affectees.
“It is hereby directed that salaries of all the officials of directors and above of the above mentioned departments/wings of CDA including Chairman CDA shall not be released/disbursed to them till next date of hearing. It is also directed that all the accounts of CDA shall be attached forthwith,” Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of IHC said in his written order issued Monday.
In previous hearing of the case pertaining to the non-payment of compensation to the affectees of sectors I-16 and I-17, the IHC had ordered to attach the salaries of CDA chief and directors and DGs for not complying with the court directives on payment of compensation before that hearing.
On July 17, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui had warned the CDA high ups to pay compensation to the residents otherwise their salaries would be linked and the bank accounts of the body could also be seized.
The CDA had announced to develop sectors I-16 and I-17 in 2009 and the Authority has to compensate 600 local residents with a sum of Rs 12 billion against 16,000 kanals of land in villages of Kot Kholian, Noon and Badhana.
However, the CDA had contended that the Authority had been unable to pay compensation in cash to the affectees on ground that the CDA had been facing acute financial crunch.
However, according to the court verdict, the CDA has already paid the entire compensation of acquired land in these sectors to influential persons holding interest of Bahria Town but affectees whose ancestral property has been acquired are lurking in uncertainty not due to financial crunch of CDA but for the reasons that corrupt mafia operating in CDA by holding key posts is not willing to compensate the affectees unless they are compensated.
“It is no more a secret that the CDA officials show their willingness to provide compensation even without entitlement provided their demand of illegal gratification is fulfilled,” the court observed.
The court has also directed the CDA chief to produce entire record pertaining to both the sectors with the court providing details that out of total affectees of acquired land, compensation has been made to whom and on whose direction.
 “I am fully convinced that non-compensation to the affectees/petitioners is tainted with ulterior motives and in order to coerce the affectees to adopt the formula of irrelevant considerations”.
The court has also sought report whether the allotment in sector I-16 and I-17 have been completed or not and what was the disposal of amount received against the allotment before the next date of hearing fixed on September 10, 2012.