Seeking possession : Sector E-12 allottees on warpath

Say over 30 years delay in development is breach of trust by CDA

ISLAMABAD: The allottees of Sector E-12 are planning to launch a protest demonstration on March 27 to highlight their miseries against non-development of the Sector even after 30 years.

Among total of 4,430 most of the allottees of E-12 were in-service and retired federal government employees and widows of such deceased employees, besides overseas Pakistanis who had purchased about 250 plots in the sector.

“CDA has been playing a foul game by ignoring the low paid retired govt employees by not handing over possession of plots in E-12 Islamabad,” an allottee Khalid Khan told The Express Tribune adding that 4,430 allottees, including senior most retired employees, widows/orphans were seeking Prime Minister’s intervention for early development of the sector. Another allottee Qamar said that the Sector E-12 offered by CDA to public through balloting in 1989 had not been developed for almost three decades.



He said matter had been debated within CDA by floating tenders, auction of plots, making budgetary allocations and discussions in CDA Board meetings besides of courts action and National Assembly committee deliberations but nothing was done on ground for the redressal of miseries of owners so far despite assurance given by CDA to address the matter of its development and handing over of plots to the allottees.

He said that 30 long years was a lifetime span and most of the government employees who were allotted plots upon retirement and senior citizens who got plots through balloting had died and their next generation too was now old and mostly retired and for many, the allotment letter for a plot in E-12 was their only inheritance.

He said that the delay in development was breach of trust of citizens who had since been waiting for a state institution to deliver on its promise. He urged that CDA to prepare necessary amendment to CDA rules to address the matter of the compensation for built-up-properties (BuP), if this was a hurdle in development of this sector.

He said CDA should get possession of the E-12 land for which it had paid compensation to the locals since long and should start development without further delay besides of giving affirmative and concrete timeframe during which E-12 Sector will be developed and handed over to the allottees.



CDA spokesperson Malik Saleem said that the authority had compensated the land affectees of E-12 decades ago, but they did not give the possession of land and now the land affectees wanted compensation for their children and families as well, which was an impossible task for the authority.  He said whenever CDA started development work the land affectees lodged stiff resistance due to which CDA had to abandon development activity on the project.

The E-12 sector spreading over 777.27 acres consists of six mauzas, including Dharek Mohri, Bhakar Mohri, Bhakkar Fateh Baksh, Bara Darri, Sari Saral and Golra Sharif. The CDA sold 4,099 plots in 1989, which were yet to be developed for residential purposes. Sector E-12 was acquired in 1987 and then officially launched in 1989. In 1989, CDA allotted 2730 plots to the employees and the general public. In addition, 1,700 plots were allotted to in-service and retired Federal employees. In 2013, the balloting for this sector was held and the prices were announced.

A CDA official told that among these Mauzas, Golra Sharif was not acquired as it was exempted by General Ayub in 1960 but remaining mauzas were acquired and compensation for land and BUP was paid to affectees by CDA but authority did not take possession of all these mauzas due to negligence and ill planning of some CDA officials. He said that matter could not be resolved until CDA engineering and estate management wings play a proactive role in this regard.

In fiscal year 2017-18 the Capital Development Authority (CDA)’s allocated Rs37.9 billion budget, of which Rs11.10 billion were reserved for Priority Development Projects including construction of Islamabad Expressway’s Sohan and Khana Interchange, construction of Bhara Kahu Bypass and development of Sectors E-12, C-15 and I-15. Among these projects, E-12 holds special status.

About two years ago, when CDA was preparing to launch Sector C-15, allottees of E-12 took the matter to the apex court. Their petition was to make CDA bound to complete development in the existing sectors before launching new ones. The Supreme Court gave verdict in favour of the allottees and had ordered CDA to fix issues that hinder it from initiating development work on these sectors. Finally after two years, the government came to the aid of CDA by reserving Rs11 billion specifically for its pending projects.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24^th, 2018.