Allottees protest CDA's 'unfulfilled' promises

Victims of housing scheme demand plot possession, action against developer

ISLAMABAD:

Affected members of the Engineers Housing Scheme in Sector D-16/17 staged a strong protest outside the Capital Development Authority (CDA)'s head office on Thursday, demanding immediate resolution of their long-standing grievances.

The protesters issued a one-month ultimatum to the CDA, warning that if their concerns are not addressed within this period, they will return with even more intense demonstrations.

The protestors demanded immediate takeover of Sector D-16/17 by CDA in line with the NOC, initiation of development work in the sector, handing over of fully developed plots to rightful allottees, freezing of assets of the scheme's developer, Arif Sheikh, followed by legal proceedings, urgent intervention by the prime minister, interior minister, CDA chairman, NAB chairman, federal ombudsman, and other relevant authorities to ensure justice is delivered.

Following Thursday's protest, on the special instructions of the CDA chairman, a representative delegation of the affected members was invited for negotiations.

The CDA was represented by the Member Planning, Director General of Housing Societies, and Director of Housing Societies, while the protestors were represented by Shakeel Nazir, Shaukat Iqbal, and Syed Khalid Mahmood. They briefed CDA officials in detail on their 34-year-long struggle, ongoing investments, and the persistent delays in project execution. CDA officials assured the delegation of prompt action, stating that concrete progress would be made in the coming days. Later, CDA Housing Society Director Ejaz Sheikh came out to speak directly with the rest of the protesters, assuring them that final action on the issue would be taken within one week.

However, the affected members made it clear that similar promises had been made in the past, none of which had materialised. Therefore, they granted the CDA a final one-month deadline, after which any verbal assurances would no longer be accepted, and a renewed, stronger protest would be launched at the same location.

During the protest, the demonstrators were of the view that for the past 34 years, members of the scheme have been knocking on the doors of the CDA, the federal ombudsman, NAB, the presidency, and other institutions in pursuit of justice but without any meaningful progress.