Separation anxiety: Unholy marriage heading towards divorce?
CDA wants to review a 10-year agreement with Indus Heritage Trust.
ISLAMABAD:
The rift between Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Indus Heritage Trust (IHT) over the possession of Potohari Art and Crafts Village has widened in the past week.
The trust announced the opening of the incomplete village last Friday, but the relevant CDA officials revealed ignorance regarding this development. It has been speculated that the NGO’s move could be a tactic to avoid CDA’s planned review of its one-sided 10-year agreement with the trust, The Express Tribune has learnt.
According to the trust’s representatives, “Indus Heritage has conceived this project and will continue to operate it on a completely voluntary basis with no payment whatsoever for its inputs and hard work.”
On the other hand, the CDA’s Sports, Culture and Tourism department announced that Margallah Festival would be held at the village in April this year. The department has also established its offices at the village.
The finance department of the authority refused to deposit seed money amounting to Rs2.5 million in the joint account as per agreement. A senior official of the authority said that CDA had the powers to undo the controversial agreement. According to him, such commercial operations could not be termed ‘voluntary efforts’.
CDA Chairman Imtiaz Inayat Elahi told The Express Tribune that there were some one-sided agreements that required revision. To a question, Elahi conceded that CDA would not get financial benefit from the project if the agreement was not revised.
However, he called the IHT a “professional organisation that comprises professional persons.”
“But we will sort out the issues to make this project a success,” he added. The chairman also revealed that payments to the contractors for the village’s completion were not yet paid.
IHT Chairman Siddiqa Malik refused to comment on financial issues. Responding to a query, she said an opening ceremony would be held after the village is completed. To another query, she replied, “I was fed up of giving different dates to artisans across the country regarding the village’s opening so I decided to formally open the village by allowing the artisans to display their work,” she said.
The agreement, a copy of which is also available with The Express Tribune, revealed that the CDA agreed to develop the village and then hand it over it to the IHT. The agreement holds that “The CDA through this agreement (authorized/approved by the CDA Board vide Decision dated October 19, 2004 vide letter No CDA-741/bf-COORD/2004/4729) would demarcate land measuring 20 acres.”
The agreement proposed a management committee consisting of six members with the CDA chairman as its head. Other than two CDA members, the remaining four members of the committee were to be from IHT. According to the agreement, “The CDA agrees to bear all the expenses relating to the designing, planning and construction of the Arts & Crafts Village, on the lines provided by the Management Committee of this project.”
Similarly, it was agreed that the CDA would be responsible for providing the utility connections such as electricity, gas, water supply and telephone.
All the installation costs would be borne by the CDA, and the utility bills would be paid through the joint account of this project under the supervision of the Management Committee.
The only responsibility that the agreement puts on IHT is “to monitor, maintain and manage the Arts & Crafts Village on a daily basis, on the lines approved by the Management Committee of this project.”
Published in The Express Tribune, February 22nd, 2011.
The rift between Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Indus Heritage Trust (IHT) over the possession of Potohari Art and Crafts Village has widened in the past week.
The trust announced the opening of the incomplete village last Friday, but the relevant CDA officials revealed ignorance regarding this development. It has been speculated that the NGO’s move could be a tactic to avoid CDA’s planned review of its one-sided 10-year agreement with the trust, The Express Tribune has learnt.
According to the trust’s representatives, “Indus Heritage has conceived this project and will continue to operate it on a completely voluntary basis with no payment whatsoever for its inputs and hard work.”
On the other hand, the CDA’s Sports, Culture and Tourism department announced that Margallah Festival would be held at the village in April this year. The department has also established its offices at the village.
The finance department of the authority refused to deposit seed money amounting to Rs2.5 million in the joint account as per agreement. A senior official of the authority said that CDA had the powers to undo the controversial agreement. According to him, such commercial operations could not be termed ‘voluntary efforts’.
CDA Chairman Imtiaz Inayat Elahi told The Express Tribune that there were some one-sided agreements that required revision. To a question, Elahi conceded that CDA would not get financial benefit from the project if the agreement was not revised.
However, he called the IHT a “professional organisation that comprises professional persons.”
“But we will sort out the issues to make this project a success,” he added. The chairman also revealed that payments to the contractors for the village’s completion were not yet paid.
IHT Chairman Siddiqa Malik refused to comment on financial issues. Responding to a query, she said an opening ceremony would be held after the village is completed. To another query, she replied, “I was fed up of giving different dates to artisans across the country regarding the village’s opening so I decided to formally open the village by allowing the artisans to display their work,” she said.
The agreement, a copy of which is also available with The Express Tribune, revealed that the CDA agreed to develop the village and then hand it over it to the IHT. The agreement holds that “The CDA through this agreement (authorized/approved by the CDA Board vide Decision dated October 19, 2004 vide letter No CDA-741/bf-COORD/2004/4729) would demarcate land measuring 20 acres.”
The agreement proposed a management committee consisting of six members with the CDA chairman as its head. Other than two CDA members, the remaining four members of the committee were to be from IHT. According to the agreement, “The CDA agrees to bear all the expenses relating to the designing, planning and construction of the Arts & Crafts Village, on the lines provided by the Management Committee of this project.”
Similarly, it was agreed that the CDA would be responsible for providing the utility connections such as electricity, gas, water supply and telephone.
All the installation costs would be borne by the CDA, and the utility bills would be paid through the joint account of this project under the supervision of the Management Committee.
The only responsibility that the agreement puts on IHT is “to monitor, maintain and manage the Arts & Crafts Village on a daily basis, on the lines approved by the Management Committee of this project.”
Published in The Express Tribune, February 22nd, 2011.