ISLAMABAD       -      The Chief Commissioner Islamabad and Chairman Capital Development Authority Capitan Retired Noor ul Amin Mengal has said on Tuesday that seven new weekly bazaars are going to be established after Eid-ul-Fitr in the capital. He was briefing the reporters here at Islamabad where he informed that to facilitate the people, the civic authority is preparing new Sunday bazaars to cater to the growing needs of the city.

He said we are trying to streamline the issue of kiosks in the city and identified about 2000 locations where permits will be issued for uniformly designed kiosks through a competitive process to create new employment opportunities. Replying to a question in this regard, he explained that it is a two tier approach in which a middle class man will obtain a piece of land through open auction from CDA and either he will run his own business there himself or rent it out to someone else having the required expertise. While commenting over the slow pace of work on mega development projects in the city, he said we are working on them with a consistent approach and most of them will be completed after June this year.

He said in addition to the ongoing road projects, we are going to launch three new development projects as well that includes an underpass in front of Serena Hotel on Srinagar Highway, widening of Jinnah Avenue and widening of Park Road. Explaining his policy on the leasing of plots to private educational institutions, he said we have identified 300 school plots of 4 to 8 kanals across Islamabad and will be given to private school owners on rent basis that will be calculated through DC notified rates.

He said that to facilitate the school owners, rent will be waived off for the first three years but priority will be given in the allotment to those school owners, who will offer a minimum fee to the children. Mr. Mengal was of the opinion that the policy will help to end non-conforming use of residential buildings while it will also reduce the burden of high fees from the parents. He said however strict agreements will be signed with school owners and if anybody was found ignoring it, the plot will be cancelled and the building will be taken over by CDA.

Meanwhile, he hinted that not only a building of the club house situated in sector F-6 will be given to the private sector but some other multipurpose grounds are also on cards to be handed over to the private sector for their better management. He said the sector development is also being given priority and sufficient funds have been allocated in this regard. He said to avoid encroachments in the underdeveloped sectors, the civic authority has decided to give provisional possession of the plots to their owners.

Chairman CDA while expressing his vision towards the environment said loves to plant more and more trees in the city. He said we have created a green fund in which 2 percent of the total cost of any development project will be shifted for its better and coordinated use across the city.