Public-private partnerships: To step around the law, CDA just changes it

The civic agency suggest new changes in the CDA Ordinance for ‘smooth sailing’ in future projects.

ISLAMABAD:

Despite a strong reservations by its own law department and opposition from the environmental and civil society activists, the capital’s civic agency on Monday approved changes in the Master Plan of the city, paving way for commercial activities in the restricted areas through public-private partnership.

Although, the CDA claims that it will enable the cash-starved civic agency to shore up its depleting revenue and develop new sectors, environmentalists and civil society acivists view it as a move to bypass the Supreme Court order and benefit influential housing societies and private land developers to ravage the green areas and environment of the city.

The new draft bill (amendments) in CDA Ordinance 1960 would provide legal cover to the public-private partnership.

Several times now, in the recent past the civic agency has made alterations in the Master Plan of the city. As an official put it, whether it was construction in Zone-IV or allotments in green areas, CDA has come up with solid footings to counter action by the Supreme Court.

In a recent ruling, the authority was reprimanded by the apex court over a dubious deal with a private housing society for the development of Sector E-11. And just like what has been happening in the past, CDA is planning to draft a new bill on the subject to counter such ‘problems’ in the future.

After the approval of the new draft, the Supreme Court decision in E-11 joint venture case of CDA and Multi Professional Cooperative Housing Society (MPCHS) would be ineffective. A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry termed the joint venture with a private firm illegal and shameful.

But, the CDA Chairman Imtiaz Inayat Elahi said that CDA was suggesting amendments in the ordinance to remove some hurdles. These efforts are being made, according to the chairman, to ensure smooth functioning of the civic agency and to meet the modern challenges and requirements of the city. “This is not an attempt to counter Supreme Court ruling,” he said. With regards to the reservations of the law directorate, the chairman said, “We have tried to address some of the concerns the directorate had expressed about the bill. But, in principle the document retains its essence.”

CDA’s Deputy Director General Law Habibur Rehman, when approached, said that the new draft Amendment Bill was not perfect and requires to be redrafted to remove some lacunas.

An official of the civic body told The Express Tribune that the new amendments in the CDA ordinance would also enable the city managers to de-acquire public land. The civic agency would also be authorised to exercise land sharing formula with land owners in acquiring the land. But, he said, the law directorate was of the opinion that this could lead to further complications as the people could demand retrieval of their land which would have been acquired by the authority.

The law directorate told the CDA Board that encroachers would take benefit from the land-sharing formula, the official said.

For the new legislation of the capital city, CDA board has also adopted two separate bills which were tabled earlier. These were put forth by the lawmakers from PML-N and PPP in the lower house of the parliament, which suggested strict action against land-grabbers, unauthorised occupants and land encroachers.

In the proposed changes, the lawmakers, PML-N’s Parveen Masood Bhatti and Khurram Jahangir Watto from PPP, had proposed measures to preserve the green image of Islamabad and to put an end the encroachments and haphazard constructions in the city.

“Islamabad, being the capital of Pakistan and the only planned city in the country, is expected to be free from all problems being faced in other overcrowded and unplanned cities,” the bill said. But sadly, the lawmakers noted, “that it is not the case anymore.”

In recent past there has been a tendency to convert public parks into residential and commercial areas, which is eradicating all green areas necessary to maintain environmental balance in the capital, the two MNA’s from rival parties added.

The lawmakers suggested that it is necessary to punish such CDA officials as well as the actual violators, adding that it is also necessary to allow ordinary persons to report such violations directly to the police. The Supreme Court recently took suo motu action over such violations and directed CDA officials to retrieve public lands from illegal possession.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 13^th, 2011.