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If all go as planned, nearly 4,000 individuals, who invested in residential flats in the scheme, will be given small-size plots at Sector I-15 on April 14, through an open ballot.
The ballot, to take place at the Pak-China Friendship Centre, is meant to decide the location of plots.
To overcome the allegations of fixed balloting, the Capital Development Authority and the National Database and Registration Authority have reached an agreement under which the database agency would permanently depute one of its senior officer at the Information Technology department of the civic agency on deputation.
The development came to overcome the issues related to the balloting of plots at the CDA. The NADRA officer, who has recently been deputed at the IT department of the CDA, will ensure transparent balloting of ballots using NADRA’s developed software.
Plots will be given 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 failed to construct the flats.
In 2005, around 8,000 investors, mainly from the middle-income group, deposited money with the civic agency after it announced to construct 8,000 residential flats in the sector.
Each applicant had deposited Rs1.4 million for the flat.
After failing to keep its promise to these investors, the CDA announced it would refund the amount paid.
Some 4,000 applied for the refund while the rest opted to wait. As per the new announcement, each of the investors who decided to wait will now get a plot measuring 138 square yards as well as a refund of Rs300,000.
On June 17, 2013, during the tenure of former chairperson Tahir Shahbaz, the CDA board decided to re-plan the sector.
Under the new plan, the civic agency abandoned the idea of constructing flats and opted for the creation of plots.
The CDA increased the number of plots from 3,454 to 7,738 each measuring 138 square yards, in the sector which has now helped the civic agency accommodate those who were promised flats.
Sector I-15 is located in Zone-I and covers an area of 746 acres.
Under the master plan, the sector was to be developed for the manufacturing industry, but in 2004, the then prime minister, Shaukat Aziz, approved its conversion into a residential sector specifically for people belonging to low-income groups.
Under the new plan, the CDA also identified around 200 additional commercial plots with a view to selling them to generate money to invest in the development of the sector.
The only work carried out by the civic agency in the sector so far is a dual carriageway for a major road, connecting roads, and bridges, while it has yet to lay utility services in the sector.
The revised land use analysis prepared in 2013 shows that residential units will be constructed on 245.87 acres (42 per cent of the total sector area), commercial centre on 37.66 acres, parks and playgrounds on 68.32 acres, shopping centres on 23.9 acres, educational institutes on 39.86 acres, sewerage treatment plant on 7.4 acres, 23.9 acres greenbelt and roads on 299.5 acres.
The CDA Spokesperson, Ramzan Sajid, said that the file, seeking approval of balloting just required a final endorsement from the civic agency’s chairperson, which would be accorded in a day or two.
He said that the issue had been resolved following directions of the prime minister to cater to the housing needs of the low and middle-income groups.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 19th, 2016.
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