Public event: CDA turned down request for expo at Parade Ground, claims ICCI

ICT Administration, ISPR have given consent, chamber’s delegation tells chief commissioner

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has refused to issue a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) for holding an industrial exhibition at Parade Ground.

Although ISPR and ICT Administration have given consent to holding industrial expo “Hamara Islamabad” at Parade Ground in April, CDA has not issued an NOC due to which the project has been postponed, ICCI President Amir Waheed said.

According to a statement, he was apprising the ICT Chief Commissioner Aftab Akbar Durrani about the issues of business community of Islamabad.



Waheed said that Ministry of Interior in collaboration with a public sector organisation was going to organise Islamabad Festival, for which ICCI was ready to collaborate so that people could get good entertainment and business activities could flourish.

Waheed was leading a delegation of ICCI that comprised SVP Muhammad Naveed Senior, Raja Abdul Majeed, Khalid Chaudhry, Sheikh Abdul Waheed and others.

Waheed said that business community of Islamabad was receiving notices for trade license from both CDA Director Municipal Administration and Islamabad Market Committee which was not justified. “There should be one regulator for trade license to save business community from problems,” he said.

He said Islamabad Market Committee has imposed taxes on business community without consultation with stakeholders and without determining any legal method for tax enforcement and stressed that chief commissioner should look into this matter. He said property value in Islamabad was assessed at FBR rate and maximum value of stamp paper was Rs24,000 due to which large number of stamp papers were required for registration of property in case of sale and purchase.

He said the maximum value of stamp paper should be increased to Rs100,000 or the method of Punjab government should be adopted to facilitate property business.

SVP Naveed invited Durrani to visit Chamber for an interaction with local business community. Raja Abdul Majeed, Khalid Chaudhry, Sheikh Abdul Waheed and others also spoke at the occasion.

Durrani said that business community was playing an important role in the economic development and assured his full support for resolving their key issues.



He said ICCI suggestion for organising Islamabad Festival on public-private partnership on regular basis would be given due consideration. He said he would discuss the NOC issue for “Hamara Islamabad” expo with CDA and assured his cooperation for such ventures. He said ICCI should send all highlighted issues in writing to him so that he could pursue them for redress. He assured that he would visit ICCI at a later date for an interaction with the local business community.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 16^th, 2018.