An allottee in sector E-12 wrote to the mayor about the negligence of the government in developing the land of his sector.
“My father died in an accident at the age of 80, that too on one of Islamabad’s roads. Taking a trip down memory lane, I can still recall the day my family received the allotment papers of a plot, at now neglected, sector E-12 which is still not developed enough to construct a home,” writes Ghulam Mustafa to Mayor cum Chairman Capital Development Authority (CDA) Sheikh Anser Aziz.
”The flashbacks of my father’s expressions and excitement-filled voice reflected security, peace of mind and hope of building a home of our own, that too with the hard earned income for which he worked for after investing countless hours in the government offices,’ the impassioned letter reads.
Ghulam Mustafa was a fifth grader when as a child, he saw his father drawing and planning the map of a house with sheer excitement. “The mere sight was so fascinating, that I decided to take part in the planning and I wanted to even paint my room. How naive children could be,” he reflected on the paper. Ghulam Mustafa was sure people would agree to that, logically, the paint of that room would have faded by now and the room must require repainting.
The sector E-12 stands deserted and not a single stone is uprooted for the development of this piece of land. While observers have seen relatively speedy development in the parallel sectors of E-11 and D-12, he could not understand that the concerning department of Capital Development Authority (CDA) had so much empathy and mercy with the allottees of all sectors except E-12.
“If we consider the people who were allotted lands in FGEHS, with 60 to 65 years as an average life expectancy in Pakistan, I can say that 70 per cent of the original allottees are dead by now, and 30 per cent of the people have managed to earn ‘peanuts’ for their plots and they have given up in the hands of the real estate agents, who are another cause of nuisance. Having experienced it myself, the threatening calls from these brokers were the cherry on top of the all problems,” he wrote to Mayor cum Chairman CDA Sheikh Anser Aziz.
“Sell or you will be charged with unbearable amount of penalty by authorities,” and “You need to sell to us, since this is better for you!” Mustafa commented on the inept governance disappointingly.
He said that luckily, he was not enticed by the fake charms and claims of these brokers, and he did not sell his plot, only because it meant a lot to his father and how he wanted to build his dream home on this land.
“I also tried to search for the shortcomings. There is a possibility that it has something to do with the allottees of E-12 sector, since unlike the allottees of sectors D-12 and E-11, our sector did not have secretaries and their nephews who were given preference and better service. It took me a while to understand the differences in their social status and ours, poor souls we are!,” he lamented..
He said that he wished some secretaries were also allotted plots in his sector so he could have also witnessed rapid development in his sector. He expressed, “ I wish Malik Riaz would take this land from CDA, so I could write him a letter of gratitude instead”.
“As I am writing this letter, my mother is approaching her 80’s and is currently struggling with diabetes and partial blindness .The déjà vu of not being able to build this dream home haunts me every night as I feel her dream of having her own home might die with her. In that case, I have a better plan. Let’s convert sector E-12 into a sanctuary, dedicated to the allotted and their families. At least we can secure them death beds as I am sure we are also running out of space for sanctuaries in Islamabad. I really do understand the level of complexity city planners have to face now,” he taunted the government.
He further stated ,”Building a home on the E-12 plot has now become my life’s mission, which I intend to complete while my mother is still with me. I do, however, leave the decision to you and hope for a miracle”.
“CDA had spent millions of rupees on advertisement for the promotion of said sector by declaring; ‘buy and build your home’, but failed to handover the possession of a single plot so far,” he told the mayor in his letter.
It is pertinent to mention here that buyers of over 4,000 residential plots in the E-12 sector, who have been waiting for the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to deliver the plots for 28 years, would have to wait as the authority could not give a satisfactory answer when asked that when would it resolve land acquisition issues.
In 1989, the CDA sold 4,099 plots but the land is yet to be developed for housing purposes, and the authority has failed to move locals out of the area to begin the development work.
Recently, member planning CDA Asad Kayani in an NA-committee said that E-12 was announced in the 1970s, and the CDA acquired land for around 5,000 housing units. He said that the sector is spread over 777.3 acres and consists of six ‘mouzas’: Dharek Mohri, Bhakar Mohri, Bhakkar Fateh Baksh, Bara Darri, Sari Saral and Golra Sharif.
However, he said that CDA has thus far been unable to resolve the matter with the locals, particularly with regard to the Build Up Property (BUP) issue.
Ghulam Mustafa questioned rhetorically ,”when will the authority wake up? Are they waiting for any allottee to commit suicide? Hang himself up! Or shoot himself?”