Power tussle: Nisar reaffirms ‘desire’ to take control of CDA

Minister asks civic agency’s chairman to submit detailed plans for key projects.


Danish Hussain June 20, 2013
“The CDA may not be answerable to the interior minister but it is certainly answerable to the government, and I represent the government,” says Chaudhry Nisar. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD:


Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan reiterated his desire to oversee the Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) affairs on Thursday.


During his maiden news conference as interior minister, Khan confirmed that he had asked CDA Chairman Tahir Shahbaz to submit detailed plans on the civic agency’s key projects including the provision of drinking water and road infrastructure initiatives among others during a high-level meeting held earlier in the day.

This prompted some journalists to question under what capacity the minister was issuing orders to the CDA as the civic agency does not fall under his ministry’s domain. They cited that the CDA was an autonomous body that is answerable to the prime minister through the Cabinet Division.

“The CDA may not be answerable to the interior minister but it is certainly answerable to the government, and I represent the government,” quipped Khan.

A CDA board member requesting anonymity said that Shahbaz was only informed by his staff officer on Thursday morning about the interior minister’s order to have him attend the meeting. “The interior ministry corresponded with the CDA with regards to the decision at the eleventh hour,” he said.

“I have already directed Shahbaz to transfer all those officials who have been performing their duties in the same posts for over three years,” said Khan.

When contacted, Shahbaz declined to answer why he had attended the interior ministry’s meeting, saying, “You should ask the interior minister this question.”

“During a meeting with high ups of the interior ministry and officials of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration, Khan expressed his ‘desire’ to take control of the CDA,” The Express Tribune had quoted a senior interior ministry official as saying on June 10.

Behind-the-scenes deliberations between some senior Pakistan Muslim League — Nawaz government officers confirmed that the PML-N was weighing the merits and demerits of a proposal recently flouted by one of its stalwarts of placing the CDA under control of the interior ministry.

“So far, nothing has been decided at the federal level. Without any formal notification in this regard, the issuance of directions and request for reports by an ‘unauthorised’ minister is against normal procedure and is evidence of undue interference,” said a senior Cabinet Division official requesting anonymity.

The CDA was formerly under the administrative control of the interior ministry during the tenure of former president Pervez Musharraf. The CDA chairman at the time was also given additional charge of Islamabad’s chief commissioner.

However, during the tenure of former caretaker interior minister Lt-Gen (retd) Hamid Nawaz, the CDA was placed under control of the Cabinet Division.

Moreover, during the Pakistan People’s Party’s government’s term in power, then interior minister Rehman Malik had made several attempts to take control of the CDA to no avail owing to opposition from former prime minister Gilani, who had stakes in the civic agency.

“The final decision lies with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who has direct control over the Cabinet Division’s affairs,” said a CDA board member. However, he added that the proposed change could yield better results in terms of the civic agency’s performance.

“The proposal’s core objective is to place both the ICT administration and CDA under the control of a single ministry to ensure better coordination between the civic bodies,” added the official.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 21st, 2013.

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ