National Assembly of Pakistan. PHOTO: APP
During the meeting, Capital Development Authority (CDA) Member Planning Shahid Mehmood was told to leave after exchanging harsh words with Housing and Works Minister Tariq Bashir Cheema for not issuing no-objection certificates (NOC) to buildings. The committee subsequently summoned CDA Chairman Amir Ali Ahmed in its next meeting.
The NA panel on housing and works met at Parliament House on Thursday with MNA Engineer Muhammad Najeeb Haroon in the chair.
The meeting reviewed the FGEHA Bill 2019. Committee members suggested that the authority’s board should be chaired by the housing minister along while it must also include one member each from the related standing committees of the lower and upper houses of parliament.
The committee was told that the erstwhile Federal Government Employees Housing Foundation (FGEHF) was mandated to arrange for affordable residences for the employees of the federal government on a no-profit-no-loss basis.
The foundation was intrinsically not a regulatory body and thus it is subject o the lengthy process of seeking permissions and NOCs from different authorities before it can launch projects.
The maintenance of existing schemes, the committee was told, was not possible until the foundation is granted the status of an authority.
Therefore the erstwhile FGEHF has been established as the Federal Government Employees Housing Authority through an ordinance promulgated in July 2019.
The committee, therefore, recommended that NA may pass the said bill.
Regarding the “ Recovery of Mortgage-backed Security Bill, 2019”, the committee was informed by the relevant ministry that since the Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority was running its operations under the direct command of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the bill should be considered by the Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat.
CDA allotments
The committee discussed the matter of allotment of Pakistan Housing Authority (PHA) apartments in Sector I-12 for which the CDA has not issued a NOC so far.
The housing minister said that the development authority had not issued the NOC even though the allottees have paid all instalments.
CDA allows buildings and factories to be erected without any NOC but creates hurdles for rightful allottees, he said.
At this, the CDA Member Planning Shahid Mehmood and Cheema exchanged heated words.
“Don’t compel me to disclose how each of the illegally-constructed buildings got approved,” Cheema boomed.
The CDA member, rejecting the allegations, maintained that the authority had never allowed the construction of a structure without due approval.
Committee member Agha Rafiullah intervened, stating that the sanctity of a public representative was being harmed by the way the CDA official was talking about lawmakers and expressed displeasure over his tone as well.
Rafiullah said that the authority’s official was making personal attacks on the MNAs and warned that he will leave away if the member did not vacate the room.
The committee’s chairman, though, ejected the CDA member from the meeting issued a summons for the CDA chairman in the next meeting.
Cheema said that the CDA chairman should be asked to come along with the details of approvals given for the construction of Safa and Centaurus malls.
Funds for development schemes
Regarding the release of funds to Sindh by the government under Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Programme, the Pakistan Public Works Department director-general told that the steering committee — headed by Federal Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak — has okayed the release of Rs34 billion for 488 proposed development schemes of MNAs under the SDGs programme.
The committee directed the department to ensure the development schemes of all MNAs belonging to Sindh are executed irrespective of their party affiliation.
Cheema, however, objected that over naming development schemes after a lawmaker. The committee, though, directed the housing minister to release development funds to MNAs.
Corruption in projects
During a discussion on the development schemes, Cheema said it was ironic that funds for projects had been misappropriated.
“Engineers have been looting the country for long. Corruption in development projects has become the norm.
Anti-graft bodies don’t even bother to investigate engineers taking eight to 10 per cent commission on projects, they only take notice when there is almost 15 to 20 per cent leakage in funds of a project,” he said.
Commissions below eight per cent are not even considered as corruption, Cheema complained.
Posting issue
Further, the committee also reviewed the matter of posting of Qasr-e-Naz’s former chief engineer Nadeem Afzal Sheikh, who had been sacked after the deaths of six children visiting Karachi from Balochistan in a state guest house.
Afzal asserted that all accusations against him were fake, adding that he was serving as an OSD for the last four months.
He maintained that on the directions of the comptroller, Aluminum Phosphide was being used in the building for fumigation for the last 15 years.
The sacked official said that the real mistake was committed by the individual who placed toxic tablets in the room without informing the management to not allot it to any visitor.
Cheema said that the former chief engineer came out of jail after reconciling with the family of the victims, adding that he cannot be posted in Karachi again.
He told the committee that the official has been restored in the same position in Islamabad.
The committee members also emphasised for not sending the official back to Karachi.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 3rd, 2020.
1732012115-0/Untitled-design-(14)1732012115-0-270x192.webp "cm orders early release of housing loan tranche")
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ