CDA hands over land for the King Hamad varsity

Joint operation demolishes 15 structures on the site, land given to health ministry

ISLAMABAD: Over two years after deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif broke ground for the Rs3 billion project, the civic authority on Wednesday finally handed over possession of demarcated land in Chatta Bakhtawar to the health ministry to build the King Hamad University of Nursing and Associated Medical Sciences.

However, it took a joint operation from the Capital Development Authority and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration to clear the land of locals first.



According to a communiqué released on Wednesday, the operation was conducted on land along Park Road in Chatta Bakhtawar by CDA’s Enforcement Directorate, senior officers and staff of CDA’s Land and Rehabilitation Directorate, ICT officers. A heavy contingent of the Islamabad Police, including an anti-riot unit and Rangers, were deputed in the area to cater to any unpleasant situation.

During the operation, CDA said that they demolished some 15 built-up-properties on the site of the university. Moreover, 17 families were given allotment letters for alternate plots in lieu of their demolished properties.

Furthermore, CDA also made arrangements for handing out compensation cheques on-the-spot to people from whom land had been acquired.

Moreover, three guard rooms, two car sheds, animal sheds and other constructions were also demolished on the university site.

After vacating the land, it was handed over to the concerned department so that work on the university could begin.

A camp office was also established at the site so that affectees of the remaining area could be facilitated.

CDA had first acquired 900 kanals of land in Chatta Bakhtawar and adjoining mouzas in 1981. But the authority had been unable to obtain possession of the land despite making paying locals the value of the land. However, the affectees went to court against CDA’s attempts to take possession of the land, contending that their claims for built-up properties on the land had not been fulfilled.

Owing to litigation, the land acquisition process remained suspended until the courts finally settled the matter in 2002 but the CDA failed to obtain possession of the land.

In 2014, King Hamad of Bahrain had announced that he would provide funds to build the university as a gift to the people of Pakistan. However, the Pakistani government would be responsible for arranging land and utility services for the varsity.

Bahrain subsequently gave Rs3 billion for the project. The university would house 2,000 students with 500 admissions annually and would have accommodation for 1,000 female students on campus.



The CDA had demarcated and allocated 237 kanals of land in Mouja village, across Park Road in 2015 and issued the allotment letter to the financiers, the government of Bahrain.

While Nawaz performed the ground-breaking for the project in January 2017, the CDA Board did not approve the allocation until months later in March 2017 and took possession of 900 kanals of land around it in October 2017. But this did not come before the civic authority decided to pay for some 100 built-up properties on the land. 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17^th, 2019.