PHOTO: EXPRESS/RASHID AJMERI
Federal Ombudsman Syed Tahir Shehbaz has directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to resolve water issues in the federal capital. The Islamabad Municipal Corporation (IMC) has also been directed to improve the condition of parks across Islamabad.
CDA could not build a single park in the last ten years. There were some 224 parks in Islamabad that were developed by the civic agency. Both CDA and IMC blame financial constraints for the lack maintenance or expansion of parks.
Shehbaz was addressing a review meeting on different issues including water shortage, construction of roads, residential projects of Federal Government Employees Housing Authority (FGEHF) and such.
The meeting was attended by the Federal Ombudsman Secretary Dr Jamaal Nasir, Housing and Works Ministry Secretary Dr Imran Zaib Khan, CDA Chairman Amir Ali Ahmed, Islamabad Mayor Sheikh Anser Aziz, FGEHF Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Wasim Hayat Bajwa and CEO Pakistan Housing Foundation (PHF) Tariq Rasheed.
Shehbaz said that the dwindling water supply had become a major issue for the residents of the federal capital.
The ombudsman also formed a committee under Senior Adviser Aijaz Ahmed Qureshi which would oversee the caretaking of parks. The committee would comprise of the officials from the related institutions along with members from the civil society.
FGEHF and Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) Islamabad were directed to complete their pending projects at the earliest and submit a report in this regard until the first week of March 2020.
The meeting participants were informed by the relevant officials that the issue of the right of way FGEHF Scheme on Kuri Road has been resolved.
They said that work on infrastructure in sectors G-14/2, G-14/3 and G-14/4 will start within 15 days. The officials said that the construction work in Sector G-14/1 would be finished by coming April.
The participants were also briefed about the progress of FGEHF Housing Scheme on Kuri Road and in Sectors F-14 and F-15 and apartments in sectors I-12, I-15, I-16, G-10 and G-13.
The FGEHF CEO Waseem Bajwa said that work on Sector G-13 apartments was stopped because the allottees were not paying the installments promptly. However, he added that the project would be completed by December 2020 and the owners would get the possession.
Bajwa informed that the infrastructure in all sub-sectors of G-14 would be finished within 15 days after which the construction work could begin there.
The FGEHF CEO added that work on the Naya Pakistan Housing project in Sector G-13 has been done previously and issues relating to water supply and others, have been addressed to a major extent.
Regarding projects in Sector G-14, he said that there were issues in securing possession of land there with built-up properties of residents along with other issues in Sector G-14/1, G-14/2 and G-14/3 and that they require Rs7.5 billion to fully resolve it.
He added that issues with Sectors G-15 and G-16 are pending in court and no progress can be made there until the courts decide the case.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 19th, 2019.
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