Almost 16 years past, people are still waiting for the allotment of their plots in Sector G-14 of Islamabad.
Hundreds of allottees of plots in Sector G-14 on Saturday protested against the federal government’s failure to get them the possession of their plots by clearing Sector G-14 from the illegal occupation of land mafia and requested the intervention of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Gulzar Ahmad into the matter through a suo moto notice.
The protestors mostly comprising of retired public servants also included women and children. They gathered outside the National Press Club (NPC) in big numbers to register their protest against illegal occupation of their plots in the sector G-14.
The protestors strongly criticized the failure of Ministry of Housing and Works, Federal Government Employees Housing Authority (FGEHA) and Islamabad Capital Territory Administration (ICTA) for their failure to take on land mafia in sector G-14 and gave the authorities a 15-day deadline for the fulfilment of their demands. The allottees announced to march towards D-Chowk and Parliament after the expiry of the deadline if their demands were not met—to clear sector G-14 from the possession of land mafia and give the allottees the possession of their plots.
On the occasion, the allottees said that out of 3000 allottees of sector G-14, more than 1000 have passed away in their quest to get the possession of plots while remaining ones are wandering from pillar to post for the redressal of their grievances. The allottees requested the CJP, Prime Minister Imran Khan, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Capital Development Authority Affairs Ali Nawaz Awan to intervene into the matter to address their plight.
“It was the vision of PM Imran Khan to build five million houses during this government’s term in power but it seems that we are being deprived of shelter by not giving us the possession of our own plots,” allottees’ representatives said at the protest site.
On October 12, 2020, Senate Standing Committee on Housing and Works expressed strong displeasure over the federal government authorities' failure to evacuateSsector G-14 from the possession of land mafia for the last 16 years, and asked FGEHA and the Ministry of Housing and Works to take steps on mandatory basis to handover the possession of the plots in the said sector to the allottees.
The committee also decided to summon Secretary Interior Yousaf Naseem Khokhar and Chief Commissioner Islamabad Amir Ali Ahmed, in the next meeting, to brief the committee regarding steps to be taken to get Sector G-14 evicted from illegal occupants.
"If land mafia is so powerful right here in the federal capital, imagine what would be the things like in the rest of the country," Committee Chairman Senator Mir Kabir Ahmed Muhammad Shahi said, while presiding over the Senate panel's meeting.
"We are simply shocked and speechless-to learn about the lengths this powerful land mafia can go to get the things done. Even the government is helpless or it is complicit as far as the unabated highhandedness of the land mafia is concerned," he said.
More than 3,000 government employees were allotted land in sector G-14 in the year 2004, and they paid all the pending instalments to get possession of the land. However, the possession of this land was never given to the allottees as various groups in G-14 allegedly patronised by the land mafia kept raising the issue of compensation against the possession of the land by carrying out illegal construction in the sector.
With additional input by news agencies
Published in The Express Tribune, October 25th, 2020.
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