Civic agency makes changes to leasing rules

The amendments come after CDA landed in a “nurseries’ controversy”.

ISLAMABAD:

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has made amendments in the rules pertaining to the leasing out of city land for the establishment of nurseries in the city. These changes come at a time when the civic agency is under the spotlight for leasing out land for nurseries, in violation of the set procedure.

According to new rules, all the future allotments would be made for a period of 10 years on “licence basis”, to be renewed annually, while plots for nurseries would be leased out through open auction and after proper advertisement in national dailies.

CDA Chairman Imtiaz Enayat Elahi apprised a subcommittee of the Public Accounts Committee on CDA land scam about these changes at the civic agency’s headquarters on Saturday.

The committee held a meeting with the authority under the chairmanship of MNA Nadeem Afzal Chan, which was attended by MNA Noorul Haq Qadri and the Cabinet Division additional secretary.

The chairman said that CDA had 22 nursery plots across the federal capital, stretching over an area of 53 acres. Moreover, the civic agency has also struck down a controversial agreement involving the lease of 19 acres of lucrative land for the establishment of nurseries along Park Road at throwaway prices. The decision to strike down an agreement regarding the lease of eight nurseries along Park Road was taken after the Public Accounts Committee’s subcommittee on CDA land scam took notice of the issue on March 25.

Earlier, on the directives of the subcommittee, the city managers introduced nominal changes in the land leasing procedure by reducing the lease period for 19 acres of land from 30 years to 20 years, along with enhancing the lease amount from Rs4,000 per annum per acre to Rs11,000 per annum.

On March 25, the PAC subcommittee asked the authority to ensure transparency in the said agreement rather than introducing meagre changes in a deal already marked by several irregularities.

Cabinet Division Additional Secretary Shahidullah Baig also noted that transparency could be brought by revoking the old agreements and auctioning the land through open bidding.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 17^th, 2011.