CDA probe into land, other directorates likely

To provide pre-approved house plans, says new chairman

ISLAMABAD:

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has finalsied pre-approved house plans for plots of different sizes that would be provided to residents for construction. The new chairman was also mulling investigation into complaints against various departments, including the Land & Rehabilitation Directorate, said sources at the authority.

Mohammad Anwarul Haq, previously a CDA member environment who was recently elevated to the position of CDA chairman as replacement for Noorul Amin Mengal, made the decision following a visit to the building control section last week.

Sources said that after assuming charge, Haq was apprised that the highest number of complaints were against the land directorate as well as the the environment, roads and maintenance departments. He was informed that complaints had also been made against the one-window operation (OWO) directorate.

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The chairman made a surprise visit to the OWO centre and the building control section. He sought a report regarding the number of applications submitted by the people and the number of applications that were approved by the concerned staff. He also inquired about the time it took to process those applications. He gave the departments till Monday (today) to submit the report.

The new chairman also issued instructions for the digitisation of property records to provide efficient service to people at the OWO directorate.

The sources added that the chairman intended to carry out a similar audit of the other directorates, including those pertaining to land, environment, roads and maintenance.

Sources told The Express Tribune that the chairman had received complaints regarding the CDA directorates of CDA.

It included several incidents where the alleged collusion of different groups and officers resulted in losses to the exchequer. In one property scam worth over a billion rupees, fake files were created for plots that were fraudulently allotted to property developers with the collusion of officers and personnel from the land department.

Pre-approved plans

In order to get a building plan approved by the CDA, a person had to go through a tedious process involving multiple departments. It would result in excessive delays and complaints from residents seeking to get approval.

Now, the CDA is planning to minimize the issue by finalizing pre-approved house plans of twenty different sizes.

If a resident would then want to construct a house from the pre-approved plans, they would not need any approval from CDA. The CDA said that the construction fees would be finalised after the input of the finance wing.

Those who want to construct a house according to a new design, then they would need approval from the relevant departments.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28^th, 2023.