The capital’s civic agency has already surrendered millions of rupees worth of rights-of-way area along different roads free-of-cost to National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra), which is executing the project through the Chinese firm to lay fiber optic lines for the project. The land was surrendered on directions from the Interior Ministry, an official privy to the developments said.
Right-of-way is an area along a road that is reserved for the future addition of lanes.
Under the multi-billion rupee project, nearly 2,000 closed-circuit television cameras would be installed in-and-around the city for security purposes.
The CDA usually charges a nominal amount from government-owned services providers for laying services lines or other equipment on its rights-of-way, while private sector service providers are charged around Rs700 per metre.
The CDA has issued a no-objection certificate to Nadra to lay fiber optic cables. Recently though, the authority received complaints that the Chinese firm was laying its own service lines — in addition to the ones approved by the CDA — to improve its own service provision to clients in Islamabad.
Incidentally, a private company would have to pay the CDA over Rs58 million to lay 83.5km of lines in the city.
“One of the members of the CDA telecom unit — which has representation from four directorates of the CDA and was formed to ensure smooth functioning of the project in collaboration with Nadra — has recently written that the executing firm is not abiding by the terms and conditions of the NOC regarding utility of rights-of-way,” confided a senior authority official who is also a member of the unit.
He said it had been suggested in the note that joint teams be deputed to check the nature of violations on behalf of the contractor.
“The rights-of-way were given free of cost under clauses 4 and 6 of the Telecom Policy. Nadra has already made an advance payment of Rs20.17 million to the CDA for repair of roads that will be dug while laying its lines,” said CDA Administration Director General Sohail Durrani, who is also the CDA focal person for the Safe City Project.
Durrani said that under the terms and conditions of the NOC, NADRA had strictly been prohibited from utilising rights-of-way for commercial or any purposes other than the defined one.
He said the terms and conditions provide for cancellation of the NOC in case of any violation. He said the issue of commercial usage of rights-of-way by the Chinese firm was not in his knowledge. When informed about the initiation of a written complaint by the Telecom Unit, he said, it was not in his knowledge.
However, he confirmed that in recent past, the CDA had received complaints about digging up rights-of-way on roads which were not included in the plan. “After confirming complaints of realignment of the original route, the issue was brought to the notice of concerned quarters,” Durrani said.
NADRA Spokesperson Faik Ali stated that the CDA had issued an NOC to Nadra for utility of rights-of-way while executing Safe City Project, but did not comment when asked about the alleged violations of the terms and conditions of the NOC.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 27th, 2014.
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