ISLAMABAD-The Capital Development Authority (CDA) while continuing its drive against black sheeps has suspended three more officials of estate wing while removed a deputy director from his post on account of corruption.
The said drive revolves around a scam of allotting dozens of plots in sector I-11 and I-12 in backdates, involving corruption of millions of rupees.
The officers and officials whose services have been placed under suspension on Thursday include Zafer Abbas Awan, Estate Management officer of Estate Management-I, Adnan Aslam Junior Assistant Estate Management-I and Irfan, Naib Qaasid of Estate Management-I. Meanwhile, a Deputy Director of Estate Management Muhammad Ramzan was also removed from his position and placed his services on the disposal of Human Resource Directorate.
The officers and officials have been suspended allegedly on account of misplacement of plot file. In this connection, a preliminary inquiry was conducted wherein it has been reported that the said plot file was in the custody of above mentioned three officers and officials, thus apparently responsible for missing of the said file.
Earlier, the management had suspended four officers few days back and sent their matter to Federal Investigating Agency (FIA) for a thorough probe. The suspended officers include Assistant Director One Window Directorate, Shohail Chohan and Junior Assistant Muhammad Waqas and Estate Management Officer Land Affectees Aftab Ahmed Jafrani and Junior Assistant Sameer Basheer.
Meanwhile, the chairman CDA had already constituted a committee to probe the matter of fictitious allotment of plots in sectors I-11 and I-12. This committee is headed by civic body’s Member Planning Dr. Shahid Mahmood while the other members include Deputy Financial Advisor CDA Miskeen Shah Kazmi and Deputy Director Planning CDA Touqeer Nawaz. The said committee was formed on an initial source report of the security directorate, which stated that more than 150 plots had been allotted in backdates to some blue-eyed persons in return of bribe by the Land and Rehabilitation Directorate of the authority. The said plots were allotted to people, who were not entitled for the same reward, apparently through under the table settlements.
The civic authority in lieu of land acquired or built up properties gives compensation to their owners, who are commonly known as ‘land affactees.’ The said compensation can be either alternate plots in developed sectors or monetary benefits on case-to-case basis
The Mayor of Islamabad Shaikh Anser Aziz when he was the Chairman CDA as well had put a ban on allotment of plots in May 2016 and ordered to formulate proper SOPs in this regard.
After one and half year in August 2017, the process was reinitiated but under a policy in which the plots could only be allotted through open balloting in the presence of two senior officers of CDA.
A balloting was also held in a transparent manner and a complete list of vacant plots in sectors I-11 and I-12 was prepared on that occasion.
Sources informed that when the doors to favour blue-eyed people on pick and choose basis were closed, some of the officials of Land Directorate in connivance with their high-ups started allotting plots in backdates secretly. Interestingly, they allotted plots from the aforementioned list in backdates and were caught red-handed. They used fake signatures of successive Deputy Director General Land CDA Abdul Salam Shah and issued allotment letter when the ban was imposed on individual allotments.
The matter remained under the carpet for a long period of time; however, it first came into limelight when land directorate issued NOCs for the transfer of the ownership of such fictitious allotments in recent past.
Sources informed that the Directorate of Security was tasked to probe the matter, which pointed out that dozens of backdate allotments were made by Land Directorate since 2018 and recommended a proper inquiry in the matter.