Operation postponed: Eviction of squatters from I-11 sector delayed
Deployment of police for long march has put plan on hold.
The settlers are being removed to retrieve the 1,200 plots the CDA allotted in 1990.
ISLAMABAD:
Tahirul Qadri’s demand for the dissolution of constituent assemblies was not the only deadline that expired on Wednesday. The Senate’s standing committee on cabinet secretariat had ordered the capital’s civic agency to clear the squatter settlement in I-11 by then.
The operation has been postponed because the Capital Development Authority (CDA) could not tackle it on its own. “CDA’s enforcement staff required support and assistance from the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration to get the settlement cleared,” said an enforcement directorate official, who requested anonymity.
But with the ICT administration and police completely focused on Tahirul Qadri’s protest in Blue Area, CDA’s 192-member enforcement directorate has shied away from evicting the 7,995 residents of the I-11 katchi abadi.
The settlers were served notices to voluntarily clear the area by January 5, but no one has vacated the settlement so far. The settlers are being removed to retrieve the 1,200 plots the CDA allotted in 1990.
The residents, including Raheem Daad, say they have lived in I-11 for decades with their families and have often been exploited by CDA officials in the past.
“We have paid thousands of rupees to CDA officials to build boundary walls for our homes,” Raheem Daad said. In return, the CDA officials allowed the construction of rudimentary houses that often lack basic amenities to exist for the past 20 years since the plots were allotted.
The settlers, most of whom belong to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa according to a survey conducted by the CDA, do not have enough money to relocate to rented accommodation in the city, Daad said. They cannot return to their native towns because there are either no opportunities for work there or the areas are conflict-ridden, he said.
“We are open to relocating to an alternative place, provided it is close to the vegetable market,” Daad said. Most of the residents work at the market as daily labourers.
A senior CDA enforcement official told The Express Tribune there is a plan to move 200 of the poorest families or around 1,000 people from the settlement to an alternative location near Rawat by Thursday.
The proposed location, a 1200-feet tract owned by CDA, is right at the southern edge of Islamabad along the Islamabad Highway where it connects with the Grand Trunk Road.
CDA member estate Shaista Sohail, who is in charge of dismantling the I-11 settlement, has been vocal about its illegality. She said the delay is a result of the extraordinary circumstances created by Tahirul Qadri’s long march. The area will be cleared in a peaceful manner, she added.
“It is better that the issue be resolved amicably even if it is a few days late,” Sohail said.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 17th, 2013.
Tahirul Qadri’s demand for the dissolution of constituent assemblies was not the only deadline that expired on Wednesday. The Senate’s standing committee on cabinet secretariat had ordered the capital’s civic agency to clear the squatter settlement in I-11 by then.
The operation has been postponed because the Capital Development Authority (CDA) could not tackle it on its own. “CDA’s enforcement staff required support and assistance from the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration to get the settlement cleared,” said an enforcement directorate official, who requested anonymity.
But with the ICT administration and police completely focused on Tahirul Qadri’s protest in Blue Area, CDA’s 192-member enforcement directorate has shied away from evicting the 7,995 residents of the I-11 katchi abadi.
The settlers were served notices to voluntarily clear the area by January 5, but no one has vacated the settlement so far. The settlers are being removed to retrieve the 1,200 plots the CDA allotted in 1990.
The residents, including Raheem Daad, say they have lived in I-11 for decades with their families and have often been exploited by CDA officials in the past.
“We have paid thousands of rupees to CDA officials to build boundary walls for our homes,” Raheem Daad said. In return, the CDA officials allowed the construction of rudimentary houses that often lack basic amenities to exist for the past 20 years since the plots were allotted.
The settlers, most of whom belong to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa according to a survey conducted by the CDA, do not have enough money to relocate to rented accommodation in the city, Daad said. They cannot return to their native towns because there are either no opportunities for work there or the areas are conflict-ridden, he said.
“We are open to relocating to an alternative place, provided it is close to the vegetable market,” Daad said. Most of the residents work at the market as daily labourers.
A senior CDA enforcement official told The Express Tribune there is a plan to move 200 of the poorest families or around 1,000 people from the settlement to an alternative location near Rawat by Thursday.
The proposed location, a 1200-feet tract owned by CDA, is right at the southern edge of Islamabad along the Islamabad Highway where it connects with the Grand Trunk Road.
CDA member estate Shaista Sohail, who is in charge of dismantling the I-11 settlement, has been vocal about its illegality. She said the delay is a result of the extraordinary circumstances created by Tahirul Qadri’s long march. The area will be cleared in a peaceful manner, she added.
“It is better that the issue be resolved amicably even if it is a few days late,” Sohail said.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 17th, 2013.