ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) announced several lands for the projects but has failed to acquire them due to an acute shortage of manpower, inefficient planning thus resulting in the loss of billions.
CDA’s inefficient planning of the new sectors including the planning of H-13, C-14 and 15 for which it has failed to acquire 100 percent land, the CDA has given compensation plots through sharing policy but has failed to give the compensation of built-up area in sectors. The total area of C-14 covers 1,500 canals wherein 840 plots. Sector C-15 and Sector C-16 has the area of 3,850 kanals and 7,500 kanals were 1,883 plots and 4,352 plots were supposed to be developed, respectively.
Moreover, the authority managed to only acquire 50 percent land of G-12, F-12 whereas another project on the land of Saidpur Village was planned but the land was not acquired.
Recently, the operation was conducted by the CDA with the collaboration of ICT and all the illegal slums were razed from the I-11 sector but the residents still complained of dirty, unhygienic conditions. The civic agency vowed to re-plan the sector causing hefty loss.
Similarly, the plots have been allotted in lieu of a Residential Flats’ Scheme announced by the CDA 11 years ago in the same sector. However, over the period of time, the CDA has failed to construct the flats.
On June 17, 2013, during the tenure of former chairperson Tahir Shahbaz, the CDA board decided to re-plan the sector but failed to fulfil the promise announcing the refunding of the amount, an estimated 4,000 applied for the refund while the rest opted to wait. As per the announcement, each of the investors who decided to wait got a plot measuring 138 square yards by computerised balloting for the allotment of 4,078 plots but the finance wing only managed to recover Rs 900000 development charges from the old allottees.
The Urban Planning is responsible for the development of new sectors such as E-13, F-13, C-13, H-16 and I-17, this department is also incurring delays. The sources claimed that the planning of sectors C-14, C-15, C-16, D-13 and I-12 were carried out in violation of the set standards.
The Regional Planning is tasked with the development in ICT zones IV and V the directorate has failed to come up with a land-use plan. These zones are littered with the unplanned buildings, especially commercial buildings which are being constructed in violation of SOPs.
In 1966, the CDA was handed over extra duties of running the municipal functions but the CDA along with these other departments have failed to deliver the citizens with properly planned societies like the private housing societies i.e. Bahria Town, and Defense Housing Authority (DHA).
“The private housing societies’ first purchase the land, develop a society and then they charge the resident for the cleanliness, road maintenance, streetlights etc, but this has not been the theme work of CDA,” said a planning wing official.
The housing societies fall under the irregular developments; two reports compiled by the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice have also pointed out that “the CDA is guilty of illegal housing schemes and violations of layout plans”, due to the negligence of the CDA over 100 illegal housing societies have cropped up.
The civic agency and capital administration has also failed to take an action against the illegal societies.
The officials, when contacted, blamed the failure of departments on an acute shortage of manpower.
According to the available data, the civic agency has only 5 town planners, the four key directorates of the planning wing; urban planning, regional planning, master plan and housing societies do not have regular heads and, these departments are being run by the deputy directors who are merely graded 18 officers and the situation is so terrible that only five town planners are currently working out of a total of 33 sanctioned posts of town planners and assistant directors.
The sources claimed that a summary to hire 45 more town planners has been formed. Another senior planning wing official said, “The authority is serious about hiring town planners so the planning wing works properly, it is essential and the very first department of the civic management”.
When CDA spokesman Mazhar Hussain was contacted, he said that the authority is working hard to make capital green, clean and planned under the supervision of CDA Mayor and Chairman Sheikh Anser Aziz. He further said that mayor has an eye over the delayed projects of launching new sectors and the authority has been trying to boost the on-going and delayed projects. Some projects face delay due to the shortage of fund.