Arts and Crafts Village: CDA revokes deal with NGO; reinstates former director
The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has revoked an agreement with a non-government organisation to manage the Arts and Crafts Village at Shakarparian, ending controversy over the project.
The civic agency also reinstated the project’s former director operation who was sacked for raising voice against what he called irregularities in awarding the contract to Indus Heritage Trust (IHT).
The civic agency’s law officer on Thursday informed the Islamabad High Court (IHC) about the decisions.
Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddique of the IHC asked CDA’s legal adviser Barrister Masroor Shah to submit the copies of the decisions in the court on March 26.
During the hearing of a petition filed by former operation manager of the village Shareq Khan against his termination, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) submitted its inquiry report to the court, pointing out several irregularities in the award of the contract to the trust.
The report stated that the contract was awarded in violation of CDA bylaws, adding that the site of the project was also shifted from Saidpur village to Shakarparian to benefit the trust.
The contract to run the project was given to IHT during the tenure of former CDA chairman Kamran Lashari in 2005.
The IHT, a conglomerate of various NGOs, had maintained that the village has not been made operational due to delay in civil works, legal impediments, and hurdles created by the former operation manager of the village.
Talking to The Express Tribune, IHT Chairperson Siddiqa Malik claimed that CDA has misled the court and the FIA by withholding important documents. She said the crafts village is a public interest project that progressed over the years.
The issue came to light when the former director operations of the village challenged his termination last year.
The petitioner’s counsel, Advocate Ikram Chaudhry, pointed out gross irregularities committed by the then CDA chairman and other officials in awarding the contract.
The village was built near Shakarparian on 21 acres to provide a platform to craftsmen to put on sale their works and take part in exhibitions.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 23rd, 2012.
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