Parliamentarians recommend cancelling lease of plot
CDA chief says he would have to check whether PM’s approval is required for cancellation
CDA chief says he would have to check whether PM’s approval is required for cancellation. PHOTO: EXPRESS
ISLAMABAD:
A Senate panel has strongly recommended cancelling a charity plot allotted by Capital Development Authority (CDA) to the Pakistan Foreign Office Women Association (PFOWA) and directed the civic body’s chairman to submit a compliance report in this regard within one week.
The Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat, which met with Senator Talha Mehmood in the chair at the Parliament House on Tuesday, agreed that the PFOWA had violated its agreement by inking an accord with a school.
“A charity plot is meant for charity. It cannot be used for commercial purposes,” Senator Yousaf Badini said.
“The committee did its best that a charity plot should be used for charity only, but PFWA did not pay any heed. Hence we have concluded that the lease of the plot should be cancelled immediately,” Senator Mehmood said and directed Islamabad Mayor and CDA Chairman Sheikh Anser Aziz to cancel the lease of the plot and submit a report to the committee within a week.
Aziz reacted by stating that the civic agency had no issue in cancelling the plot, but, he added that he would have to check since the land had been allotted on the directives of the prime minister in 1996.
"I have to check whether prime minister's approval is required for cancelling the plot, and I think this process will take some time," Aziz told the committee.
The PFOWA is registered as a welfare and a charity organisation and is run by spouses of Foreign Service officers.
In 1996, the CDA had leased a 10-kanal plot to the PFOWA in Sector H-8 for charity work. Per their lease agreement, the NGO was supposed to complete construction work on the plot by 2009, but it failed to do so.
In 2014, the civic agency further relaxed its rules and allowed the charity to establish a commercial school on the plot under a joint venture on directions from the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Instead of starting charity work under a joint venture, the PFOWA handed over the property to Roots Millennium International Schools, in contravention of CDA rules.
Water supply scheme
The committee was also briefed about the shortage of and a supply scheme for Sector D-12.
The CDA chairman told the committee members that two new water supply lines were being laid down to increase water supply in Sector D-12 and 95 per cent of work on these lines had been completed.
Committee members were told that due to lack of adequate underground water in the area, chances of getting water through tube wells was in the area was small.
CDA Hospital
The executive director of the CDA Hospital told the committee that they were facing problems owing to a shortage of doctors.
He said that the court had imposed a ban on appointments in CDA and IMC. While the ban has now been lifted, vacant posts in the hospital would be advertised within next two weeks.
The Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD), CDA and contractual doctors committee recommended regularising 36 contractual doctors who had been serving in the hospital for the past five years.
At this, the CADD secretary told the committee that as per the new policy, hopefuls would have to pass a Federal Public Service Commission test and interview to be inducted as regular service members. He, however, said that contractual doctors would be given a relaxation in age.
At this, the committee members recommended to regularised contractual doctors without written tests.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 24th, 2017.
A Senate panel has strongly recommended cancelling a charity plot allotted by Capital Development Authority (CDA) to the Pakistan Foreign Office Women Association (PFOWA) and directed the civic body’s chairman to submit a compliance report in this regard within one week.
The Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat, which met with Senator Talha Mehmood in the chair at the Parliament House on Tuesday, agreed that the PFOWA had violated its agreement by inking an accord with a school.
“A charity plot is meant for charity. It cannot be used for commercial purposes,” Senator Yousaf Badini said.
“The committee did its best that a charity plot should be used for charity only, but PFWA did not pay any heed. Hence we have concluded that the lease of the plot should be cancelled immediately,” Senator Mehmood said and directed Islamabad Mayor and CDA Chairman Sheikh Anser Aziz to cancel the lease of the plot and submit a report to the committee within a week.
Aziz reacted by stating that the civic agency had no issue in cancelling the plot, but, he added that he would have to check since the land had been allotted on the directives of the prime minister in 1996.
"I have to check whether prime minister's approval is required for cancelling the plot, and I think this process will take some time," Aziz told the committee.
The PFOWA is registered as a welfare and a charity organisation and is run by spouses of Foreign Service officers.
In 1996, the CDA had leased a 10-kanal plot to the PFOWA in Sector H-8 for charity work. Per their lease agreement, the NGO was supposed to complete construction work on the plot by 2009, but it failed to do so.
In 2014, the civic agency further relaxed its rules and allowed the charity to establish a commercial school on the plot under a joint venture on directions from the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Instead of starting charity work under a joint venture, the PFOWA handed over the property to Roots Millennium International Schools, in contravention of CDA rules.
Water supply scheme
The committee was also briefed about the shortage of and a supply scheme for Sector D-12.
The CDA chairman told the committee members that two new water supply lines were being laid down to increase water supply in Sector D-12 and 95 per cent of work on these lines had been completed.
Committee members were told that due to lack of adequate underground water in the area, chances of getting water through tube wells was in the area was small.
CDA Hospital
The executive director of the CDA Hospital told the committee that they were facing problems owing to a shortage of doctors.
He said that the court had imposed a ban on appointments in CDA and IMC. While the ban has now been lifted, vacant posts in the hospital would be advertised within next two weeks.
The Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD), CDA and contractual doctors committee recommended regularising 36 contractual doctors who had been serving in the hospital for the past five years.
At this, the CADD secretary told the committee that as per the new policy, hopefuls would have to pass a Federal Public Service Commission test and interview to be inducted as regular service members. He, however, said that contractual doctors would be given a relaxation in age.
At this, the committee members recommended to regularised contractual doctors without written tests.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 24th, 2017.