The countdown begins as the Chief Minister Inspection Team (CMIT) is set to unveil important enquiry report on Tuesday to reveal hard facts and expose those responsible behind the death of four labourers and demolition of 3-storey plaza in Board of Revenue Housing Society at Johar Town on September 23, 2011. However, in a major development, LDA has issued public notice for the approval of revised building plan of BOR Housing Society despite the complaint of BOR society’s newly-elected president Nasir Qadir in LDA one window cell on January 2 that unless the revised plan is not approved by the BOR Society Managing Committee, it could not be filed with LDA.
Interestingly, the revised plan deliberately excluded the plots of petitioner Shahid Aziz who moved the court through writ petition 574/06. Sources in CM Secretariat said the CMIT and LDA were not on the same page and the issue of covert approval of revised building plan could spark confrontation between them. LDA officials, including LDA DG Abdul Jabbar Shaheen who ordered the demolition of the plaza, office-bearers of BOR Housing Society and the plaza owner, all could be in trouble if the findings of the report go against them.
CMIT’s report is 97 days behind its scheduled deadline. Taking cognizance of the case, Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif had ordered CMIT to submit the enquiry report within 7 days after the tragedy. However, the report was delayed and finally after a lapse of more than 4 months, it is going to be unwrapped in 3 or 4 days. CMIT Chairman Najam Saeed told Pakistan Today that enquiry report had to be delayed due to unavoidable reasons. CMIT officials presented the report within the deadline but he ordered a dig into the facts to distinguish truth from falsehood and to expose the real faces behind the heart-wrenching incident, he said.
Spilling the beans, he said during investigation, some stark revelations surfaced including the fact that the ill-fated plaza was constructed second time and the building plan had not approved by a competent authority. “There were other mysteries and unanswered questions that pushed us to lengthen out the enquiry to see the jungle from the tree to reach the genuine truth,” he disclosed.
When Imran Raza, Personal Staff Officer of CM Punjab Shahbaz Sharif was asked about the report, he said he was not aware of this case.
Sources revealed that some LDA officials, BOR society office-bearer and the plaza owner were making all out efforts to mislead the CMIT. The nexus was still involved in illegally approving the complete revised plan of Board of Revenue Housing Society, recently submitted to LDA Metropolitan Wing in violation of rules to silence the case of four labourers’ death during plaza demolition launched by LDA in the society some months back and to hush up the FIRs registered against authority officials. The move came in the wake of clandestine reconciliation between LDA top bosses and the plaza owner. Influential office bearers of BOR Housing Society, whose plots worth millions were at stake after the plaza demolition controversy helped the reconciliation by succeeding to woo both parties.
Sources said LDA had already plunged into a nutcracker situation in plaza demolition tragedy due to glaring contradictions in its own enquiry reports and FIR registered at Johar Town Police Station. “The gaps will really put LDA in trouble during legal proceedings and LDA DG Abdul Jabbar Shaheen could be overthrown for misleading the court,” a senior official in LDA told Pakistan Today.
After CMIT came into action, Shaheen initiated an enquiry on October 6 taking Additional Director-General (housing) Irfan Bhatti under the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability (PEEDA) Act 2006 under task.
Former LDA reports made invalid by CMIT available to Pakistan Today disclosed 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 has no experience regarding building demolition.
LDA 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. However, the only exception may be Tahir Shabbir Baloach, Assistant Director (Buildings), who could be exonerated on account of his concern and advice.
