CDA panel approves three more sectors in Islamabad

ECNEC to be requested to grant waiver for PC-Is of sectors E-12, I-14 and I-15

ISLAMABAD: In view of the rising housing needs in the federal capital where nearly half of all requests for low-cost housing under the Naya Pakistan Housing Project coming from the city, the apex development authority of the metropolis has decided to prioritise development of different sectors.

The project concept-I (PC-I) for developing three sectors, including Sector E-12, I-14 and I-15 were approved  in principle in a meeting of the Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) Development Working Party (DWP) which met on Friday.

In what was its 44th meeting, a statement issued by the authority read that the DWP had approved an extension in the time for the contractor to complete development work on Park Enclave. Furthermore, the meeting agreed to erect pedestrian bridges at different locations in the city.

During the meeting, officials conceded that developmental works in various sectors have been pending for decades owing to misplaced priorities. But now, the authority realizes the importance of developing sectors in light of growing housing needs

Sector E-12 was first opened around four decades ago. With the passage of time, possession of the land and other allied issues surfaced in the area but no attention was paid to resolve these issues. As a result, development work in the sector stalled.

However, the CDA has now vacated the land it had acquired from illegal occupation but has also completed all formalities to initiate development work in the sector.

In this context, PC-I for developing the sector worth Rs6.691 billion was prepared and placed before the CDA-DWP for consideration during its meeting on Friday, an official said. The meeting approved  in principle the PC-I and directed to seek a waiver from the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) because the project has been submitted to the highest economic body before as well.

If the ECNEC waiver is secured, the CDA-DWP will approve the project and work on it can commence in just two months.

Similarly, Sector I-15 was opened to provide housing for low-income groups in and around the federal capital. Like Sector E-12, development work on the sector has stalled for the past 15 years while no serious attempt was made in the past to launch development work in the sector.

As in Sector E-12, Sector I-15 was listed among the priorities of CDA and all obstacles hindering development work in the sector were removed. Subsequently, a PC-I worth Rs5.656 billion was presented in Friday’s meeting.

The CDA-DWP approved  in principle the project and sought a waiver from ECNEC.

Like the other two sectors, work on Sector I-14 has been pending for the past two decades. While partial development was carried out in the sector, a number of facilities are still missing there due to which the general public was facing problems.

In this context, a revised PC-I worth Rs4.241 billion was prepared and submitted to the CDA-DWP. The PC-I estimates the cost of work to be done at Rs3.112 billion and expenditure incurred against original approved PC-I worth Rs1.129 billion.

The party reviewed the proposals and approved it. Because it had been previously submitted to the ECNEC, a waiver was sought from the apex economic body.

The CDA-DWP also agreed to grant two more years to complete development work in Park Enclave. The housing project had been launched as many as seven years ago but work on it had stalled.

Even though the CDA-DWP had approved it, the tendering process for the project had been stopped. This process, it was decided, will be restarted.

To resolve the issue of precarious road crossings in the city, the CDA-DWP decided to shift or erect pedestrian bridges at different spots along key thoroughfares — as raised during the last meeting of the body.

After completing all formalities, the project was placed before the CDA-DWP to build a pedestrian bridge on Faisal Avenue between Sector G-7 and Sector G-8, Jinnah Avenue Sector G-9 and Sector F-9 — opposite Mehran gate of F-9 Park, and at Kashmir Highway near the weekly bazaar.

The motion was approved by the development working party.

Debris removed from Kashmir Highway

After a deadline given to former occupants for the removal of debris from demolished structures lying on the right-of-way of Kashmir Highway in Sector G-12, expired, the CDA has cleared debris from the area.

Debris was removed in a joint action by the CDA, the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Administration, the Environment Wing of the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) and other concerned departments.

Machinery from the Machine Pool Organisation (MPO) of CDA was used to shift the debris.

It is pertinent to mention here that the CDA, through a public notice, had warned all former occupants about the illegal structures and building demolished by CDA in September 2018 and had directed them to remove debris and other demolished structures within 15 days. Should they fail, these structures and building material or debris would be confiscated by CDA.

After clearance of debris, the site will be handed over to the Environment Wing to plant trees in the area. 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1^st, 2019.