Illegal settlement scandal: Arrested CDA officials sent on remand

FIA attains warrants for 33 others


Rizwan Shehzad November 04, 2015
FIA attains warrants for 33 others. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD: A district and sessions court on Wednesday awarded physical remand of 11 officials from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

The civic agency’s officials are accused of facilitating the establishment of the capital’s fastest growing irregular settlement on a greenbelt between sectors H-9 and H-10.

Senior Civil Judge Abdul Ghafoor Kakar granted three-day remand for the suspects, who include six directors, two deputy-directors, an assistant-director, a supervisor and a sub-inspector, after they were produced before the court.

Meanwhile, the FIA has obtained arrest warrants for 33 other officials, including CDA Deputy-Director General Asia Gul, from the same court. Apart from Gul, the officials include seven directors, six deputy-directors, five assistant-directors, five supervisors, four range officers, three inspectors and two sub-inspectors.

A total of 44 officials have been booked in the case so far.

In the case, the records of only two such kachi abadies – Akram Gill Colony and Rimsha Colony – had been obtained, according to the FIA. The two colonies had been setup since 2009. Action against other such settlements will be initiated after obtaining relevant records, the federal agency said.

The investigating agency also maintains that under the charter of duties of relevant CDA wings, stopping the establishment of these colonies is the responsibility of the enforcement directorate and environment wing of the authority. “Officers and officials who were posted in these sectors from 2009 till date are responsible for the illegal establishment of these katchi abadies,” the FIA claims.

The report also asserts that CDA records and Google satellite images show that these two settlements were established and increased unlawfully with the facilitation of CDA officials. Those posted during the period in question have put no significant effort to stop the settlements from expanding, it added.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 5th, 2015.

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