Cost of sit-ins: Land auctions postponed yet again

Officials say land prices have decreased due to political uncertainty.

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has once again postponed its scheduled land auction due to the ongoing sit-ins of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Pakistan Awami Tehreek.

The three-day land auction was slated on October 13-15 and has already been delayed four times over the last three months.



The civic agency has been facing a financial crunch in absence of much-needed cash flow from its land auctions. Land sales have been a major source of income for the authority for over a decade, and officials claim it has been unable to develop sectors I-15 and D-12 due to the shortage of funds. Many other projects have also reportedly been stalled due to the financial crunch.

The city managers are of the view that due to ongoing political impasse, the value of real estate has seen a significant decrease and prices of plots in residential and commercial areas have also come down. “The situation can adversely impact the auction process. Thus it will be now be held when normalcy returns in the real estate market,” said an official of the authority’s estate wing.

The first auction of residential and commercial plots in the financial year 2014-15 was scheduled on August 23 and 24. The authority had announced the auction in July and planned to present some 50 residential plots, 18 commercial ones and two agricultural farms during the two-day auction, but owing to the sit-ins, city managers postponed the auction and announced new dates — September 8 and 9.



Later, the date was revised to September 13 and 14. As the sit-ins lingered, the auction was rescheduled again and the new dates of October 13, 14, and 15 were announced. It has now been delayed for an indefinite time.

In its annual budget for the year 2014-15, the authority had announced to generate an enormous Rs35.73 billion from the auction of residential and commercial plots, besides receipts from sector development.

In its budget document, the authority had put forward some projects which it intended to initiate soon after approval by the authority’s board with a total outlay of Rs45.82 billion.

These projects include the up-gradation of 7th Avenue at an estimated cost of Rs500 million, development of car parking areas in the capital at a cost of Rs350 million, construction of two underpasses on Faisal Avenue in sectors G-7/G-8 and sectors F-7/F-8, construction of semi-covered markets in the city for Rs200 million and Rs100 million for the construction of a slaughterhouse in the capital.

Though the authority has invited tenders for initiation of development work on some of the above-mentioned projects, the process has been delayed due to insufficient funds.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 14^th, 2014.