Right-of-way: CDA Board refuses to allot plots to nurseries

Rejects summary, offers plots elsewhere

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) Board has rejected a summary for allotment of plots to private nurseries at places demarcated as “right-of-way,” leading to major roads.

The apex decision making body of CDA met here on Wednesday and deliberated over 11 point agenda items.

The board members remained unconvinced over allotment of plots to private nurseries at right-of-ways (RoWs) of Kashmir Highway in H-Series and rejected the summary presented by Member Planning & Design.



The board members however, agreed that some location other than RoWs could be earmarked for establishment of private nurseries.

“The board deliberated over the issue at large and finally decided that places in RoWs cannot be allotted for nurseries because these are planned for particular purposes and when authority tries to vacate these places it becomes a difficult task,” CDA Member Planning Asad Mehboob Kiyani told The Express Tribune. He said that with passage of time people file case in the court.

Another CDA source said that Park Road was a classical example of private nurseries at RoWs where 20 to 22 nurseries were established by private investors and when CDA tried to get them vacate it faced not only faced stiff resistance but also cases in the court of law.

An internal source told The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity that several influential nursery owners approached some parliamentarians in national assembly to influence and pressurise authority for allotment of plots to them at right of ways of Kashmir Highway. The source said that CDA officials succumbed to the pressure of parliamentarians and prepared a summary for approval of the board. However, the board members after deliberation over the issue decided that establishment of nurseries over orchid farms was somehow a compatible use of nurseries.



The board also approved the allotment of land in Sector I-17, to National University of Medical Sciences for establishment of Medical City. The summary was put forward by Member Estate Khushal Khan. The land has allotted for construction of a medical city in I-17, which will have major health facilities. The proposed medical city will be set up under the supervision of National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS), which will also establish a state of the art university and allied medical facilities there.

The apex decision making body of CDA also permitted change of use of plot No6, Bazar No4, Class-III shopping Centre, in Sector F-10/3. However, changes are subject to the payment of charges in accordance of offer prices received by authority for class-III shopping centres in last week auction. The board also approved allotment of land for establishment of National Institute of Human Rights at Islamabad, while discussing agenda item eight regarding separation of files on account of share of commercial plots with more than one co sharers board said that it was a procedural matter did not board’s approval.

Board deferred the summary of member admin regarding grant of next higher scale to the employees holding posts which are isolated and stagnated that having no line of promotion prospects. The board also deferred the summary regarding re-planning of plots for widows of CDA employees.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 5^th, 2018.