Islamabad - The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has started paying for the blunders committed in handling the issues pertaining to the residential sectors C-15, C-16 as the its enforcement teams are facing stiff resistance in taking possession of the said land.
According to the sources, the CDA officials committed major irregularities in sectors C-15 and C-16 of the capital as it, under the land-sharing formula, had issued hundreds of allotment letters for one kanal plot to the land holders in the aforementioned sectors without taking possession of the land. The land holders are still cultivating the land while the CDA is unable to start development work in the much-delayed sectors. The sources said that the enforcement directorate has regretted to take responsibility of the outcome of the deeds and acts of the officials of the land and estate directorate as, according to it, the latter abused their positions and acted in sheer violation of the Land Disposal Regulations-2005.
According to a letter written by the enforcement directorate to the DDG (Land and Estate) and Deputy Commissioner CDA titled “C-15, C-16 land-related issues and impediments,” the locals turned aggressive whenever the CDA teams landed there (C-15, C-16) for the development work. The letter said creation of approximately 2,000 residential and commercial plots without due possession of entire C-15, C-16 is causing immense botheration. The letter said the matter required to be thrashed out as to how the said land was awarded and then how without practically demolishing /acquiring land, hundreds of residential and commercial plots came into existence which blessed ‘mafias’ and groups at large, apparently. “This office shall take no such responsibility of the wrongdoings of other formations,” it added and also demanded to bring the ‘beneficiaries’ to justice, for abusing their positions and acting in sheer violation of the Land Disposal Regulations-2005.
Both the sectors were launched in 2010 but struck with a multiple issues from time to time. The PC-I of the said schemes was under finalisation in the concerned directorate when the CDA high-ups took notice of the fact that estimates of the schemes were prepared on the basis of tentative data. The then DDG L&E had decided that land possession of the subject sectors will be obtained after award of built-up property. When CDA announced awards for these sectors in 2011, land became non-transferable as per rules & regulations but the CDA made new rules for this sector due to some influential people and the people started purchasing cheap land and sold it at high prices. The land was acquired by the CDA and compensation in lieu of this land has already been paid; however, the land is illegally possessed by the locals who are using it for agriculture purposes.
The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has not been able to develop even a single residential sector in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) for the last 27 years, while the shortage of housing units in the metropolis had exceeded 80,000 units and the demand is increasing at the rate of 5,000 units per year. The last sector developed by the CDA was sector G-11, which was completed in 1987-88, and since then it has not developed any sector. According to the Islamabad Master Plan, the CDA was supposed to develop a total of 56 residential sectors in Islamabad in different phases. In 2010, the CDA announced two new sectors, C-15 and C-16, but it is yet to take possession of the land for these sectors.