PHOTO: EXPRESS
Hearing several petitions where the owners of the One Constitution Avenue complex and others have challenged the Capital Development Authority (CDA)’s decision of terminating the contract of land lease and sealing the building, IHC’s Justice Athar Minallah directed the petitioners –BNP (Private) Limited – to submit names of buyers, amount paid to the firm by them and status of the number of plots sold, or yet to be sold, by January 11.
In the petition, the CEO of the BNP (Pvt) Ltd and another had requested the court to restrain the civic body from taking any adverse action till the case is decided upon by the court.
On August 1, 2016, CDA had informed the IHC that it had terminated the 99-year land lease contract with the BNP (Private) Limited owing to several violations of CDA’s by-laws and rescheduling outstanding dues.
Earlier on July 1, the civic body had sealed the building for
various building and layout plan violations.
The civic agency’s board, in its meeting held on July 29, had further decided to take appropriate action against officials who had extended several relaxations to BNP from time to time in contravention of the rules and regulations of the authority, causing significant loss to the CDA.
The 13.5 acre plot on Constitution Avenue, on which the building in question is being built, had been sold by CDA to BNP in March 9, 2005, for Rs4.88 billion. Possession of the plot was handed over the same year after receiving just Rs800 million.
Thus far, BNP has paid the CDA Rs1.02 billion and the group is liable to pay the remaining Rs3.85 billion in installments until 2026.
The court will take up the case on January 11.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 3rd, 2017.
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