Turning the tide: Arts and Craft Village to be ready by next week

The cultural project has been mired in controversy since its inception.

ISLAMABAD:

One of the Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) most controversial projects --- Pothohari Arts and Craft Village --- after its recent inauguration by PM Yousaf Raza Gillani, will be made fully functional by next week.

This was announced by CDA Chairman Engineer Farkhand Iqbal on Monday during a visit to the Arts and Craft village.

Soon after its approval by the CDA board in 2005, the project became controversial as the management of The Art and Craft Village was awarded to a Non Government Organisation (NGO), by the name of Indus Heritage Trust (IHT). The deal was said to have been made under a questionable public-private partnership deal which attracted media attention before the Senate Standing Committee on the Cabinet picked up the issue.

It was revealed in the standing committee meeting that the expression of interest (EoI) published on August 10, 2004 highlighting the terms and conditions for the prequalification of the contract and the last date for the submission of the EoI was August 25, 2004, whereas the IHT was only registered with the Islamabad joint sub-registrar four days earlier on August 21, 2004. This raised suspicion that the CDA inked the agreement to serve the interests of favoured individuals.

A CDA official told The Express Tribune on condition of anonymity that following the disclosure of deal, the CDA terminated the contract with the NGO. “But the latter approached the court on the grounds that the contract could not be unilaterally terminated as termination needed the consent of both parties,” he said.

When asked about the present status of the legal row between the NGO and CDA, the official said that Islamabad High Court had rejected the plea of Indus Heritage Trust and sought a reply from the CDA which has yet to be submitted. He said the CDA is presently managing the project on its own.

Responding to another query, the official said that due to the controversy, the cost of project escalated to Rs333 million from the initial Rs112 million.

Despite the unclear status of the project, the civic body chief said at the village said that all modalities and procedures would be finalised within a week, while directing the CDA Engineering member to complete the necessary beautification and other repair work at the Arts and Craft Village within the same timeframe. He further directed the concerned departments to establish separate pavilions for art and for crafts.

Several attempts were made to contact the civic agency chief, but he could not be reached.

CDA Spokesperson Ramzan Sajid said he was not aware of the village’s present status.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 29^th, 2012.