Pakistan

Senate panel summons CADD minister, CDA chairman

Expresses its ire over ignoring its recommendations for PARC land

Tanveer Mahmood Raja September 13, 2017

Expresses its ire over ignoring its recommendations for PARC land. PHOTO: EXPRESS

ISLAMABAD: A panel of senators has taken a strong exception over the CADD and the CDA for not implementing its recommendations regarding 1,400 acres of land for the Pakistan Agriculture Council (PARC).

The panel wants capital authorities to drop the idea of selling the council’s land to a housing scheme.

The Senate Standing Committee on Rules of Procedures and Privileges met at the Parliament Lodge with Senator Jehanzeb Jamaldini in the chair on Tuesday and decided to call Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) minister and Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman to explain why the panel’s recommendations were ignored.

It also discussed a privilege motion, which had been moved by Senator Syed Muzaffar Shah – the chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on National Food Security and Research regarding a breach of privilege by the CDA Chairman Anser Aziz.

The food security committee had asked CDA to reverse its decision to cancel the lease of 1,400 acres of land meant for PARC and to stop building a housing scheme on it.

Shah told the panel that his committee had prepared a report after listening to all the concerned departments and sent it to the Senate. The upper house, after taking up the recommendations of the standing committee, sent these to CDA.

The authority was supposed to file its objections, if any, within two months or start implementing the recommendations.

Briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Rules of Procedures and Privileges, CADD Secretary Nargis Ghaloo told the committee that CDA, through CADD, had already sent a summary to the Cabinet Division for a decision two months ago.

However, due to a change in the cabinet, the entire process was cancelled. Therefore, she said, a new summary has been sent to the Cabinet Division, but they have yet to receive a reply.

The Senate panel expressed reservations over the inordinate delay and decided to summon CADD Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and CDA Chief Aziz.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 13^th, 2017.