ISLAMABAD - A day ahead of the personal appearance of the Chairman Capital Development Authority Capitan (R) Muhammad Usman in the Islamabad High Court, the land directorate is going to hold balloting to allot plots to the land affectees of sector E-12 on Thursday.
The IHC had summoned the CDA chairman in person on September 16 in a case pertaining to the non-payment of compensation to the affectees of various sectors.
The petitions had been filed by affectees of CDA sectors E-12, I-17, H-16, G-12, F-12, Kuri Model Village C-14 and C-15.
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, while hearing the case, remarked that the CDA has failed to satisfy the court in the matter and the non-payment of the compensation was a violation of basic human rights.
The chief justice directed the CDA chairman to clarify why the compensation has not been paid to the affectees.
The CDA in lieu of land acquired or built up properties gives compensation to their owners, who are commonly known as ‘land affectees.’ The said compensation can be either the alternate plots in developed sectors or monetary benefits on a case-to-case basis.
Before 2016, there was a practice in CDA to allot plots as compensation on pick and choose basis and sometimes the blue-eyed people were allotted plots on advantageous positions having more market worth in return of bribes as allotting a plot number was the discretion of the concerned officers.
However, Mayor of Islamabad Sheikh Anser Aziz, when he was the Chairman CDA as well put a ban on allotment of plots in May 2016 and ordered to formulate proper SOPs in this regard. After one and a 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.
It is pertinent to mention here that in the last five years only a couple of ballotings could be held and most of them were also conducted on the pressure of Islamabad High Court by the city managers. Now once again, after the strict remarks and summoning of chairman CDA in the court, the land directorate swung into action and is going to hold a balloting to allot plots to the land affectees on war footings. When contacted, Deputy Director General Land Umar Randawa informed that the high court ordered us to settle the outstanding cases of the land affectees but clarified that the process would not remain restricted up to the one sector alone.
He said we will do balloting for other sectors as well in the coming days in a transparent manner and for this purpose the services of NADRA would be taken.
Meanwhile, Chairman CDA also visited the site of sector E-11 and directed the land directorate to settle all the outstanding issues of the local landowners on priority basis. He has directed to make a camp office on ground and ensure allotment of plots in compensation on quick basis but subject to the vacation of the possession on ground.