‘Mafias occupy Sector G-14’

Senate committee orders immediate eviction of land grabbers

ISLAMABAD:

A Senate panel on Monday directed to immediately evict illegal occupants and members of the land-grabbing mafia from Sector G-14 even as officials urged the committee, the police and the government to fully back them in this endeavour.

This was directed during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Housing and Construction which was held in the Parliament Lodges on Monday with Senator Mir Kabir Shahi in the chair. The committee discussed questions raised in the Senate by Senator Behrmand Khan Tangi regarding handing over possession of plots to allottees in sub-sectors two and three of Sector G-14 in Islamabad and the illegal occupation of land in sub-sector one.

Senator Tangi asked how in the presence of district administration and the police could lands be illegally occupied in the federal capital. He added that today construction activities are underway in South and North Waziristan, which were one under the illegal occupation of militants but three sub-sectors in the federal capital have become no-go areas.

Waseem Hayat Bajwa, the director-general of the Federal Government Employees Housing Authority (FGEHA), confirmed that some illegal occupants are creating problems for them in Sector G-14/1. Noting that they were weak and the illegal occupants were powerful, he said that an operation was carried out on June 30, 2020. However, the illegal occupants allegedly attacked their staff, leaving 10 injured apart from damaging vehicles. An FIR was lodged against them but the police have yet to make any arrests.

As long as the police do not cooperate, with the support of the committee, the illegal occupiers cannot be evicted, he said.

Federal Housing and Works Ministry secretary reiterated that without support from the government, it is not possible to recover this land from illegal occupants.

The official added that some 150 properties have been awarded while payment for another 100 has been made.

Senator Tangi said that there are about 580 residents while there are around 1,100 illegal occupants. He claimed that no work has been done there for the past year.

In this regard, Senator Tangi reminded that the high court had ordered that the victims and the ministry form a joint committee to decide the matter. It was decided that the affectees will be paid within 60 days while land will be retrieved from illegal occupants within 15 days.

He added that several original allottees have passed away waiting for their lands and now their children are running from pillar to post for their rights.

The relevant authority has done no work there, he lamented.

At this, the committee chairman said that the matter has been pending before the committee for a long time now. If this is the situation in the federal capital then what will be happening in the rest of the country.

The housing secretary said that it is better a meeting is held with the interior ministry's secretary and the Islamabad chief commissioner in this regard and then update the committee about the details in the next meeting.

The committee directed to evict the illegal occupants and adjourned the matter until the next meeting.

The committee also reviewed in detail the issue of institutional reforms in the FGEHA and the impact of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) on the government's housing schemes.

The committee was told that the project faced a slowdown due to the pandemic with 'not much work done' for four months. However, the projects have started on the ground from August, and committee members can visit the site to inspect progress.

Construction on the projects has started in the Bara Kahu, and Sector G-13 areas of the federal capital apart from projects in Lahore, Kuchlak, Peshawar and other cities, the officials said.

Moreover, the committee was told that by December 2020, work on projects worth Rs500 billion would have started. These projects include 148 old projects and 213 ongoing projects. Moreover, they said that 112 projects have been started in 2020, and another 184 will commence in 2021.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 13^th, 2020.