Righting wrongs: New PC-I for Park Enclave now in motion
Commencement of housing colony, I-15 development to begin after technical committee’s approval.
Commencement of housing colony, I-15 development to begin after technical committee’s approval. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
It seems that the incumbent management of the capital Development Authority (CDA) has realised the ground reality — until it prioritises the development of stalled projects, it cannot win back the badly-shattered confidence of the public for its schemes.
An example endorsing this fact is prioritisation of the neglected Park Enclave project by the management, and a recent direction involving fast-paced implementation of the CDA board’s earlier decisions regarding sector I-15.
To this end, Rs 3.85 billion PC-I of the stalled Park Enclave project will be presented before the CDA’s technical committee for approval today. Many concerned officials at the CDA and Park Enclave allottees see this as a positive development, as earlier the PC-I document was returned by former CDA chairman Nadeem Hassan Asif, citing some “unrealistic” design requirements which he flet caused cost escalation.
Inaugurated in 2011, the Park Enclave project was in doldrums until the incumbent chairman, after having consecutive presentations from concerned wings, decided to remove hurdles impacting the project.
“The chairman visited the project site a few days ago and directed officials to put the PC-I document of the project before the technical committee for debate,” said CDA Administration Member Amir Ali Ahmad.
Ahmad said the chairman was briefly informed about issues related to built-up properties within the premises of project site, leading to a delay in the completion of the boundary wall.
In the first phase, the boundary wall is to be completed so that the site is protected from future encroachment, Ali commented. He said the project development would be completed within record time after approval of the PC-I.
There are 13 built-up structures at the site of Park Enclave. The owners of those structures have refused to accept the compensation announced by the authority, claiming it is lower than the market rate.
CDA Chairman Maroof Afzal said the members of the technical committee would deliberate over the document on Monday. “If found feasible, it will certainly be approved,” Afzal said, agreeing that the development of Park Enclave would help restore the credibility of general public in CDA schemes.
An official of the engineering wing said the committee should approve the PC-I, while any recommendations the committee has to suggest can be settled later on.
Although the approval, if accorded on Monday, will be a definitive step towards resolving genuine grievances of plot allottees, the management has yet to shed light on the issue of rigged balloting, which was conducted during the tenure of former chairman Farkhand Iqbal.
During the balloting, which was managed by officials of the CDA information technology department on the directives of their bosses, a disproportionate number of politicians and prominent journalists were allotted prime plots, while the general public and overseas Pakistanis were given plots along a seasonal stream passing through the site of the project.
“After clearance from the technical committee, the PC-I document will be presented to the CDA-Development Working Party for final approval,” said an engineering wing official.
Once the PC-I is approved, interested construction firms would be asked to submit bids for the project, he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 6th, 2014.
It seems that the incumbent management of the capital Development Authority (CDA) has realised the ground reality — until it prioritises the development of stalled projects, it cannot win back the badly-shattered confidence of the public for its schemes.
An example endorsing this fact is prioritisation of the neglected Park Enclave project by the management, and a recent direction involving fast-paced implementation of the CDA board’s earlier decisions regarding sector I-15.
To this end, Rs 3.85 billion PC-I of the stalled Park Enclave project will be presented before the CDA’s technical committee for approval today. Many concerned officials at the CDA and Park Enclave allottees see this as a positive development, as earlier the PC-I document was returned by former CDA chairman Nadeem Hassan Asif, citing some “unrealistic” design requirements which he flet caused cost escalation.
Inaugurated in 2011, the Park Enclave project was in doldrums until the incumbent chairman, after having consecutive presentations from concerned wings, decided to remove hurdles impacting the project.
“The chairman visited the project site a few days ago and directed officials to put the PC-I document of the project before the technical committee for debate,” said CDA Administration Member Amir Ali Ahmad.
Ahmad said the chairman was briefly informed about issues related to built-up properties within the premises of project site, leading to a delay in the completion of the boundary wall.
In the first phase, the boundary wall is to be completed so that the site is protected from future encroachment, Ali commented. He said the project development would be completed within record time after approval of the PC-I.
There are 13 built-up structures at the site of Park Enclave. The owners of those structures have refused to accept the compensation announced by the authority, claiming it is lower than the market rate.
CDA Chairman Maroof Afzal said the members of the technical committee would deliberate over the document on Monday. “If found feasible, it will certainly be approved,” Afzal said, agreeing that the development of Park Enclave would help restore the credibility of general public in CDA schemes.
An official of the engineering wing said the committee should approve the PC-I, while any recommendations the committee has to suggest can be settled later on.
Although the approval, if accorded on Monday, will be a definitive step towards resolving genuine grievances of plot allottees, the management has yet to shed light on the issue of rigged balloting, which was conducted during the tenure of former chairman Farkhand Iqbal.
During the balloting, which was managed by officials of the CDA information technology department on the directives of their bosses, a disproportionate number of politicians and prominent journalists were allotted prime plots, while the general public and overseas Pakistanis were given plots along a seasonal stream passing through the site of the project.
“After clearance from the technical committee, the PC-I document will be presented to the CDA-Development Working Party for final approval,” said an engineering wing official.
Once the PC-I is approved, interested construction firms would be asked to submit bids for the project, he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 6th, 2014.