Last-minute omission: Court stays auction of prized plot

CDA excludes plot from bidding.

ISLAMABAD:

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) decided to exclude a prized plot from a planned auction after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) issued a stay order on Monday.

The plot, meant for construction of a five-star hotel in Sector F-5/1, was among 14 commercial plots which were scheduled to be openly auctioned on Tuesday (today) by the CDA.

“So far, I have not seen the court’s order. But if stay is granted by the court, then the said plot will certainly not be made part of the auction process. We will first vacate the stay order before rescheduling its auction,” CDA Chairman Tahir Shahbaz told The Express Tribune.

Located next to Marriott Hotel, the plot was vacated by the CDA early on Monday after carrying out an operation.

The plot has been in the Marriott Hotel’s possession since 2011 under an open area licence, contrary to the fact that the plot was a planned one reserved by the authority for the construction of a hotel.

“It cannot be auctioned since it is located on a green belt and its auction is not permissible under the master plan of Islamabad. Also, under a July 1996 federal government decision, sectors F-5 and G-5 were declared “cordon sanitaria”,  and the establishment of five star hotels in these sectors is prohibited,” said a spokesperson of the Hashoo Group.

The plot in question measures around three acres and the Planning Wing of the CDA has estimated its price on auction at around Rs4 billion.

Bids worth Rs776m received

On the first day of a two-day open auction of residential and commercial plots, the CDA on Monday received bids worth Rs776.306 million against 38 residential plots in different sectors of the city.

The authority was supposed to auction a total of 47 residential plots but due to time constraints, only 38 were offered for bidding. Plot No 1 in Sector G-11/4 fetched the highest bid of Rs80,000 per square yard, while a plot in Sector D-12 received the lowest bid of Rs44,500.

On the second day of auction on Tuesday (today), the CDA is scheduled to offer commercial plots for open bidding. Commercial plots include four plots in Blue Area, sectors D-12, E-12 and I-12.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 26^th, 2013.