ISLAMABAD              -         The Prime Minister’s office has directed Interior Ministry to handover several departments of Capital Development Authority to their relevant federal ministries and divisions.

If the recommendations would be implemented as it is then the role of decades old civic authority would be limited up to the custodian of master plan only as all major functions have been decided to be taken away from CDA.    

The top office wants to handover CDA’s hospital to the Ministry of Health, CDA model school to the Ministry of Education, sports and culture directorate to the Ministry of Interprovincial Coordination, zoo and wildlife management to the Ministry of Climate Change, road directorates, machinery pool division and special projects to the National Highway Authority while the maintenance of parliament lodges, Aiwan-e-Saddar etc. is also decided to give to the Ministry of Housing and Works.

The Prime Minister Office also wants to place the remaining directorates of CDA under the control of Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad as well on the pattern of Punjab province for clear responsibility and unity of command for provision of basic services to the citizen.

A letter in this regard was sent by the Institutional Reforms Cell of the Prime Minister’s office to the Federal Secretary Ministry of Interior in the first week of June in which it is directed that a cabinet decision regarding restructuring of CDA should be implemented in letter and spirit.

The letter available with this scribe stated that though the interior division has submitted a report on implementation status of the recommendations approved by the federal cabinet, however, several recommendations prepared by the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Institutional Reforms Dr. IshratHussain have been ignored.

The letter reproduced the missing recommendations and stressed to implement these in letter and spirit by the interior division and asked to prepare an action plan in this regard.

In addition to aforementioned recommendations, the PM office also wants to devolve Human Resource and Finance Directorates to the Metropolitan Corporation to run its affairs effectively. There were about 30 directorates which have already been devolved to MCI few years back when local government elections were held in Islamabad.  

The recommendations also include that the CDA should no longer acquire the private land for the development of new sectors but continue to complete its stalled sectors i.e. E-12, I-15, I-11, I-14 etc. preferably on public private partnership mode.

It was also asked to launch development projects under Public Sector Development Program through relevant federal ministries or their agencies not by the CDA.

Meanwhile, the recommendations include that the CDA should not collect taxes such as property tax, cesses fee, tolls and user charges as the MCI is the appropriate body authorised under LG act to mobilise the revenue for providing essential services to the citizen of Islamabad.

The recommendations also stated that the CDA should give highest priority to the automation of processes, digitisation of land records, web enabled access to the citizen for obtaining updated information et.

It is pertinent to mention here that the incumbent management had decided to restructure CDA and adopted the decision of federal capital few months ago according to which the authority would be run by a managing director to be appointed from private sector.

The present executive board of the CDA would be replaced by a new advisory board comprised upon government officials as well as experts from the private sector. The powers of existing board members had already been devolved to respective director generals of the authority and posts of the general managers had also been created.