Routine activities grind to a halt at CDA

Several senior officials believed to be in the running for authority’s hot seat

ISLAMABAD: Days after a court ordered to evict the chief of the civic authority, work in the authority has since ground to a halt.

On Friday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had declared as illegal the notification which granted the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) Mayor Sheikh Anser Aziz the additional charge of Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman, effectively evicting him from the slot.

The IHC had further ordered the federal government to complete the selection process for appointing a new CDA chairman — for a tenure of five years — within 45 days after the judgment was announced.

Complying with the order, Aziz had subsequently relinquished his additional charge.

With Aziz gone, routine work in CDA seems to have stopped.

Curiously, this is not the first time the civic body has found itself without a head. But it seems that this time employees of the body are far more interested in debating over who will their new boss be rather than their work.

The CDA headquarters building now resembles more a social club rather than an important authority managing civic affairs of the capital.

Rumour-mongering about the appointment of a new chairman and sharing their views on different officers who are in the running for the top slot are the main topics of discussion for employees who are already in the habit of concentrating on their work only under pressure from the top.

As per the buzz racing through Islamabad, senior officers including CDA Member Administration Yasir Pirzada, CDA Member Planning and IMC Chief Metropolitan Officer (CMO) Asad Mehboob Kiyani, CDA Member Land and Estate Khushal Khan Khattak, Islamabad Chief Commissioner Zulfiqar Haider and former CDA Member Administration Amir Ali Ahmed are vying for the top spot.

In its judgment on December 29, 2017, Justice Minallah had noted that an independent and autonomous civic authority was key to realising the vision of the founding planners to implement the master plan of the capital in letter and spirit.

“Due to the pathetic state of CDA affairs and excessive pressure from different quarters, including parliamentarians, judiciary, civil society and the establishment, no seasoned bureaucrat would like to take on this challenging assignment,” a CDA official said on the condition of anonymity.

He added that it was possible that the government may appoint a junior officer to the post as a stopgap noting that such a move would suit the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) which dominates the elected local government set up in the capital.

Moreover, it will allow it to better control affairs of CDA until the next general elections.

While Aziz was forced to relinquish charge as CDA chairman, he remains the elected mayor. Even though a number of subjects have been transferred to the elected IMC, the CDA still handles a lot of civic affairs in the city —key among those being funds.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2018.