The Lahore Development Authority is doomed to lose its one and only whistleblower in the department, Additional Director General (ADG) Hafiz Ahsan Ul Haq, who is set to retire on April 2 (today).
He is known to have always stood up against LDA Mafia to check rampant corruption by showing doors to influential officials who misappropriated million of rupees, overstepped their authorities and dented the image of department.
Recently, he had to bear brunt on his activism against the unscrupulous elements in the LDA when a “trap” was crafted to implicate him in departmental and legal cases by LDA top officials as a retaliatory move to teach him a lesson for exposing some Mafia’s titans in enquiry report on BOR housing society tragedy that cased 4 casualties and 21 injuries.
LDA Town Planning and legal team were alleged to remain active in preparing a fake “scandalous file” against ADG in which written statements of contractual officers were registered. LDA Mafia spun “cobweb of intrigues” after Hafiq Ahsan spilled the beans in his enquiry report that Chief Town Planner Ch Muhammad Akram, who was also heading the Commercial, Recovery and Enforcement Directorate of Town Planning Wing, admitted in his statement before the LDA enquiry committee that he had no experience regarding building demolition. His report said the demolition operation was ill-planned, ill-executed and grossly mishandled which resulted in the collapse of the building and caused loss of four precious human lives and injuries to twenty one persons. According to enquiry report, the responsibility lay squarely on all the officers of Town Planning Wing, Engineering Wing and Directorate of Enforcement, who took part in the demolition operation directly or indirectly. It was just because of their negligence/inefficiency (which they committed either by omission or by commission), that the tragic incident took place.
LDA officials who licked the wounds on getting pinpointed by LDA ADG Hafiz Ahsan Ul Haq in enquiry report some months back, had already made onslaught against him by sealing his house on commercialisation issue some months back LDA commercialisation wing sealed a residence No 445/G-4 situated at Doctors’ Hospital Road in Johar Town for being used commercially allegedly by the LDA additional director general (ADG).
Information disclosed that Doctor Road fell in category “A” list declared commercialised already by LDA administration by laying down specific rules. A major loophole, however, was that LDA had never served a letter to Ahsan’ wife for the payment of commercialization fee. Meanwhile, Ahsan’s wife submitted application on December 8 one day after the sealing on December 7 at LDA one-window cell pleading that she wanted to pay all commercialisation fee to get her housed unsealed.
It is to his credit that he exposed LDA IT Project Director Mansoor Butt who was appointed in LDA on fake degree by holding a credible enquiry against him. And eventually, LDA had to terminate Mansoor Butt.
Another feather in his cape was that he held a enquiry and found that LDA chief engineer Abdul Rub and influential director Asad Abbass Jafari received Rs 2 million from a contractor. On the basis of his enquiry, then LDA DG Abdul Jabbar Shaheen had to terminate both of them from their services on January 21.
End of LDA-leaks?
