"The link could be down temporarily which is why it is not accessible," says CDA spokesperson Ramzan Sajid. PHOTO: CDA
The Capital Development Authority’s is ineffective in solving public woes and their ability to do so reached a new low after complaints were lodged against the authority’s online complaints management system regarding public parks in Islamabad.
About six months earlier, the civic agency added a new feature to its website by creating an e-link for registration of complaints about parks; however, the link is no more functional.
Arshad Ansari, a resident of Sector I-10 and a retired government official, said he has been trying to lodge an online complaint regarding untrimmed wild bushes and uneven footpaths in a children’s park located in front of his house in I-10/4.
“Though there exists a link on CDA’s official website on complaint registration but it’s broken and non-functional,” he added.
Until a few days ago, when the link was functional, residents were even able to go through details of the staffers deputed in their neighborhood public park including their duty timings and contact details.
Citizens were also able to upload pictures describing the nature of their complaints besides giving suggestions to improve the park conditions.
“It was easier for me to check through the web if the assigned staff is present at the park or not,” said Ansari, adding that now the facility was not available.
Besides public parks, the link also had details regarding several jogging tracks and fountains, and three libraries and gyms in various sectors and citizens were able to lodge their complaints about these facilities.
The CDA administers affairs of a total of 184 parks in Islamabad — Margalla Hills National Park, five major urban parks including F-9 Park, Shalimar Park at Sector F-7, Kachnar Park at Sector I-8, and Sylvian Park at Sector I-8, five major sub-urban parks including Rawal Lake View Park, Rose and Jasmine Garden, Daman-e-Koh View Park, Shakarparian View Point, and Ankara Park. Moreover, it also includes three ladies park in sectors F-10/2, G-10 and G-6, and 171 children’s park.
According to the environment wing’s record, around 1,247 officials and workers, including horticulture supervisors (park in-charges), gardeners, security guards, and sanitary workers are performing duties at these parks.
Last month, during a hearing at the Supreme Court of Pakistan into a case of non-conforming use of residential units in Islamabad, the city managers had to face embarrassment in front of the judges due to a similar situation.
The court had directed CDA to give a link on its official website to for citizens where they could register complaints about businesses being run in houses in their vicinity.
On the next hearing CDA informed the court that the link had been provided on their website. Judges decided to verify CDA’s claim on the spot and found the link to be broken during its verification.
The court snubbed the city managers and gave them 24 hours to fix it; it is presently functional.
The CDA spokesperson Ramzan Sajid said the civic agency’s website was regularly upgraded by the IT department of the authority. “The link could be down temporarily which is why it is not accessible,” Sajid said adding that the IT department would be asked to fix the technical glitch at the earliest.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 14th, 2015.
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