Murky deals: Diplomatic shuttle service a dubious gold mine

CDA and ICT to submit reports before the Islamabad High Court.

ISLAMABAD:

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Islamabad administration (ICT) are expected to submit their respective reports on the Diplomatic Shuttle Service before Islamabad High Court (IHC) today.

The lucrative land measuring 4.5 acres along Third Avenue, Quaid-i-Azam University Road, was provided at a throwaway monthly rate of Rs100 per kanal to a contractor for the establishment of the shuttle service.

Islamabad Transport Authority (ITA) Secretary informed The Express Tribune that the authority had not issued an approval for the service. He said the court would be briefed about the irregularities in the service.

On the other hand, the relevant CDA official, Ghulam Sarwar Sindhu, claimed that there was no illegality in the deal and the ITA’s approval was only necessary for general bus stands. In response to a question regarding the service’s missing record, Sindu said that the facts would be revealed before the court if so required.

Since the court’s intervention, the record containing details of the deed has gone missing from the CDA’s headquarters.

An internal inquiry mandated to trace the missing file is currently underway.

Following an earlier report by The Express Tribune on irregularities in the shuttle service, a high court lawyer challenged the controversial deal between CDA and a contractor in IHC.

The shuttle service was initiated in April 2002 at the Convention Centre with a view to establish safe and speedy transport for visa seekers. Nowadays, visa seekers can only enter the Diplomatic Enclave via the shuttle. Some of the documents of the missing file, available with The Express Tribune, provide some insight into how CDA officials, in connivance with the contractor, are minting money at the cost of the national exchequer and visitors to the foreign missions’ offices.

The contract shows that the service’s license was issued by a body which is not the competent authority.

According to CDA Land Disposal Act, the allotment of commercial land, in the case of joint ventures, is the domain of the Directorate of Municipal Adminstration. The only other recourse is through open auction. However, in this specific case, the license was issued by the subsidiary branch of Planning Directorate, in clear violation of rules and regulations.

“The contractor of the project, Muhammad Hussain, is just playing the role of a front man. Allegedly a former mini-bus driver, Hussain has a 40 per cent share in the profits generated by the service,” revealed the source.

An advertisement published on March 2008 in a national newspaper, around the time the project was being tendered, is also ambiguous and misleading. It does not mention that the project involves the running of a bus service. It reads, “Planning and development of the services, on built operate and transfer basis, for persons interested in seeking visa.” CDA awarded a service contract under Build Operate Transfer programme to Hussain, who has been running the shuttle service for the past seven years.

Moreover, Hussain’s contract expired in 2008 but the civic body violated bylaws by reinstating his contract for an additional seven years.

Soon afterwards, the contractor turned this convenient means of travelling into a business, increasing the fare by 150 per cent. In addition to the common waiting room, a ‘VIP waiting lounge’ has been introduced by the service’s administration. According to an employee of the service, visitors to the US Embassy have no choice but to purchase the Rs500 VIP lounge ticket.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 29^th, 2011.