Stalled sector: CDA approves Rs2.6b for Sector I/II-1 development

The sector was previously partially occupied by the Afghan Basti slum, which was razed last year

ISLAMABAD: The Development Working Party (DWP) of the capital’s civic agency on Friday approved Rs2.6 billion for the development of Sector I/11-1.

Approval was granted at a DWP meeting chaired by Capital Development Authority (CDA) Chairman Maroof Afzal.

The sub-sector near Sabzi Mandi  was partially occupied by the illegal Afghan Basti slum until last year, when the slum was razed to the ground by the civic agency on August 1. Over 600 illegally-built houses and other structures were demolished during the operation.

The operation was carried out after Islamabad High Court Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui ordered the removal of all illegal settlements in the city. The court said that the settlement violated the rights of landowners and had to be removed.

The area marked for some 300 plots that had been occupied by the slum.

Due to issues regarding illegal occupation, development work on the slum was suspended for more than 25 years.

At the time of the slum razing, opposition lawmakers had condemned the government’s “bulldozer approach” against the capital city’s largest illegal slum and demanded an inquiry into the clean-up operation. Ruling party’s lawmakers, including National Assembly Deputy Speaker Javed Murtaza Abbasi, insisted that the action was lawful.

Meanwhile, the DWP deferred the PC-1 for a link road connecting Shahdra and adjoining areas with Murree Road near the proposed Bhara Kahu bypass.  The meeting was informed that because the road was in the jurisdiction of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Administration, rather than the CDA, the ICT Administration’s consent was needed before funds could be allocated for the project.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 30^th, 2016.