The issue was first highlighted in the media in December 2010. To investigate the matter, PAC constituted a sub-committee, which found that CDA did not follow the rules of Pakistan Procurement Regulatory Authority while extending the lease periods.
A total of 23 two-acre plots near Chak Shahzad on the outskirts of Islamabad were leased out in 1971 for a 20-year period.
In 1991, CDA decided not to extend the leases and said it would make a road over there. The owners even took CDA to the court. The two parties reached a settlement whereby CDA let the lessees continue operating their nurseries with their agreements being renewed on an annual basis.
In 2009, CDA renewed the leases of eight of the 23 plots for 30 years without inviting bids.
The sub-committee also met last Saturday to discuss the issue. CDA Land Revenue Director Waqar Ali Khan explained CDA’s actions by saying that the authority was bound in the original lease terms to extend the contract for three equal terms of 20 years.
He added that leases were not extended in 1991 because of Park Road’s development. Once it was completed in 2009, the authority extended the lease.
However MNA Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, who is part of the PAC sub-committee, rejected the explanation and asked Khan why leases of only eight of the 23 plots were extended. The committee also criticised CDA’s decision of extending the lease duration to 30 years.
In the same meeting, Federal Works Director General told the panel that CDA was charging only Rs189,520 on each plot for 20 years, which comes out to just Rs9,476 per year. The committee gave CDA one month to reverse its decision and make the lease allocation process transparent.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 14th, 2011.
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