Islamabad High Court (IHC) has decided to fix the hearing of a matter relating to implementation of the recommendations of a commission it had constituted to probe alleged irregularities in Capital Development Authority (CDA) on May 23. Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the IHC announced the setting up of the commission in September 2012 which was headed by Justice Sardar Raza Khan (Retd). It commenced proceedings on November 11, 2012 and on April 8, 2013 submitted its report.
The court would take up some petitions which have been filed by some private parties. Besides, the bench would also hear 47 petitions relating to land acquisition in upcoming sectors of Islamabad. The IHC would examine implementation of recommendations on the following projects. Monal Restaurant: The commission gave its finding that a due process was not observed as tenders for Rs 105.3 million projects were not called through advertisement but were invited from firms already pre-qualified by the CDA. Being the lowest one, the contract was awarded to M/s Arif Enterprises.
It declared that the current lessee constructed shops, kiosks, gazebos, tree house on the premises of the restaurant illegally and directed CDA to take control of the said structures. IJP road project: Rs 971 million project for the construction of IJP was awarded to M/s Sardar Mohammad Ashraf D Baluch. The CDA paid the firm Rs 350 million initially but it could not complete the task. The remaining work was re-tendered to Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) at a cost of Rs 140 million. M/s Baluch did not return the amount and went into litigation.
The commission recommended disciplinary action against the officials of the directorate of Road and Maintenance and the Directorate of Law of the CDA. Grand Hyatt: The land for the construction of Grand Hyatt was leased to M/s BNP Group in 2005 against Rs 4.8 billion, but the construction of the hotel was delayed after October 2005 earthquake when some changes were suggested for the design of the multi-storey hotel including reduction of the number of storeys. The lessee on the other hand stopped payment to the CDA for eight long years. The commission recommended action against the CDA officials and recovery of all outstanding amounts.
LED project: The Rs 7.5 billion light-emitting diode project was tendered in 2010 and M/s Siteco secured the highest marks in the technical evaluation. The then CDA financial adviser, however, recommended the award of contract to another firm M/s Oslo but M/s Siteco challenged the CDA decision in the IHC. The commission pointed out that though the matter is pending, the "project must be re-tendered" if the civic body wanted the project to continue.
Double road leading to Bahria Enclave: Bahria Town constructed a double road on the CDA land without obtaining permission of the civic body in 2011. The authority accorded approval in 2012. The commission found that "from the oral and documentary evidence so far collected, it is apparent on the face of it that access to Bahria Enclave was intervened by Kuri Village, a property belonging to the CDA." The commission, however, ruled that the dispute can only be solved by resorting to the proper forum (civil court) which shall hold demarcation on the spot.
Diplomatic shuttle service: The shuttle service was started to provide facility to all the visitors of different embassies situated in the Diplomatic Enclave. The commission found that the contractor M/s Diplomatic Shuttle and transport Service is charging Rs 500 per passenger per trip against Rs 200 which was fixed in the agreement. The contractor, according to the report, said the extra charge was for providing special facility, which is against the contract.
The commission recommended cancellation of the contract and suggested recovery of the overcharged amount, and action against the CDA officials involved. Margalla Towers: In October 2005 earthquake, Margalla Towers collapsed. The commission observed that the matter regarding Margalla Towers has been taken up at the Supreme Court level and there is nothing pending with regard to this residential project. It, however, recommended that the CDA officials concerned be dealt with in accordance with the law for not maintaining a check on the poor construction.
Payment of Rs 1.73 billion to Malik Riaz: The commission examining the compensation matter of the affected persons of sector H-16 and I-17 observed that the CDA had made compensation to influential people like Malik Riaz but had not paid any amount to other victims. The commission recommended the CDA to withdraw investment from stock exchange and instead invest in other profitable projects.
Irregular recruitment: The commission pointed out that since 2008, CDA had employed 2,701 daily wage employees out of which 900 had been regularised. The commission recommended the CDA to constitute a committee of senior officers headed by the chairman to scrutinise the lists of the employees and to remove ineligible persons. The commission also advised the CDA to stop political influence in its affairs.
Gun and Country Club: The commission observed that the Gun Club management raised construction without the permission of the CDA and did not pay the rent to the CDA. The commission recommended that the Gun Club shall be taken over from the present management and immediately handed over to Pakistan Sports Board. Since the matter is already pending in the Supreme Court the commission opined that "subject to decision of the Supreme Court, we would also recommend that the present administration should pay the prevailing rates of rent from the date of non-payment till the time of recovery and disciplinary action should be taken against the concerned officers of the CDA."
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