Two accused LDA officials back on lucrative posts

LAHORE – Two Lahore Development Authority (LDA) big wigs, involved in the high-rise building scandal, are back on lucrative posts after they were suspended by the Punjab CM’s high-powered committee in 2008 and named in a FIR registered against them in 2009.
Chaudhry Akram and Khalid Mehmood Sheikh were among the 24 officials who were found involved in construction of illegal high-rising buildings. Now, the LDA has issued orders and reinstated Akram as chief town planner and Mehmood as director town planner III.
A senior LDA official told Pakistan Today that a committee was formed on instructions of Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif in the light of the Supreme Court’s (SC) observation on October 10, 2008. He said that on directions of the committee, LDA suspended 24 officials under the Punjab Employees Efficiency and Discipline Act 2006. Action against these officials was part of the authority’s drive against illegal high-rise buildings in the provincial capital.
The suspended officials included Aftab Ahmed Khan, chief metropolitan planner, Chaudhry Akram, town planning director, Qasi Masood Ahmed, former chief town planner, Khalid Mehmood Sheikh, metropolitan planning director, Shakil Anjum Minhas, deputy director and Muhammad Fahim, deputy director. Other officials included Muhammad Iftikhar, Mehmood Ali and Asad Zaman. Suspended building inspectors included Irfan Sohail, Fayaz Zahoor, Tanveer Ashraf, Younas Dar, Akhtar Abid, Irfan Beg, Faqir Ahmed, Shahid Nazir, Inamuddin, Shafiq Ahmed, Zia Hussain, Amjad Nazir, Malik Tufail and Muhammad Fazil. Kachi Abadies Estate Officer Qazi Naimat was also among the suspended officials.
LDA officials said that statements of allegations for action against 24 suspended officials along with the orders of the inquiry were also submitted to the action committee. Officials said that action was taken against the officials who returned to their parent departments. The committee called for immediate presentation of complete details of the assets of LDA officials and staffers involved in the case of illegal high-rise buildings. The asset details included moveable and immovable property, bank accounts, prize bonds, income from rented houses and agricultural land, valuable gifts, number of children studying abroad and others.
The anti-corruption establishment arrested 11 officers of the City District Government Lahore (CDGL) and LDA and handed them over to the Old Anarkali Police. The officers were taken into custody for their alleged involvement in construction of illegal high-rise buildings in the city. Cases were registered against them under Section 5/2/47 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 and Section 161 of the Pakistan Penal Code. The arrested officers included Rana Maqbool, Tariq Mehmood Bajwa, Younas Dar, Ansar Imam Bokhari, Gharib Alam, Muhammad Jahangir, Shafqat Bhatti, Rana Muzzamil Haq, Colonel (r) Abdul Majeed, Mutahir and Tahir Naveed.
The officials said that LDA had terminated Aftab Ahmed Khan, chief metropolitan planner and Qazi Masood Ahmed, former chief town planner in 2010 after the committee, constituted to look into the irregular construction of multi-storey structures and illegal plazas in the provincial capital, proved them guilty.
Last week, LDA imposed a major penalty of compulsory retirement from service on three sub engineers and building inspectors for their involvement in the construction of illegal high-rise buildings in the city whereas departmental proceedings against another official have been dropped due to his death.
The compulsory retired officials include Riaz Akhtar Khokhar, Aamir Rashid and Pervaiz Khurshid Shah where as Muhammad Farooq has died. The high-rise commission, constituted under the directions of the SC to inspect illegal plazas in the city, had recommended proceedings against the above-mentioned officials for their involvement in the construction of illegal plazas.