CDA staff, Parliament Lodges is a career posting

Some staffers have spent their entire careers at the residential complex

ISLAMABAD:

Parliament Lodges is one of the few areas of the capital which has a heavy deployment of CDA staff ever-ready to serve local residents — parliamentarians.

Those who were elected to serve the poor are being taken care by over 300 civic agency staffers. Officials in basic scales one through 19 are among the 303 CDA employees deputed at Parliament Lodges — a residential apartment complex for legislators.

The list includes 19 staffers who have been deputed at the lodges for over 25 years, without being rotated elsewhere.

There are 133 others officials deputed at the complex for 10-plus years and never transferred away.

A field staff of 17 members is also deputed at the building for horticulture work.

Parliament Lodges consists of nine residential blocks, seven in the use of the parliamentarians and two administration blocks. It has a total of 358 family suites. Each legislator availing the facility pays just Rs4,000-a-month for a suite.

Members of the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat meeting in parliament on Thursday to discuss issues related to the Capital Development Authority were surprised to learn of these details.

Committee member Senator Kalsoom Perveen said legislators had noticed that some CDA officials were also involved in unethical activities.

She said despite the huge deployment, cleanliness and services at the building were not up to the mark.

Committee Chairman Senator Talha Mehmood directed the CDA administration to transfer all officials who have been deputed at the lodges for decades.

CDA officials also explained that staff of IESCO and other allied departments is also deputed at the building.

CDA Engineering Member Shahid Sohail said employees prefer to stay at Parliament House as they get additional session allowances besides their salaries.

The committee had a lengthy 25-point agenda to discuss. During the course of the meeting, PPP Senator Yousaf Badini walked out, saying the chair was not giving him sufficient time to question the CDA officials.

He was later convinced to return by fellow parliamentarians.

The CDA also assured the house that the civic agency would complete leftover development work in Sector D-12 by March 2016. The civic agency also assured legislators that it would complete the development of Park Enclave within the announced timeframe.

Due to time constraints, the committee did not cover all agenda items.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2015.