Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) is once again going to auction its residential and commercial plots on the lucrative locations of the city to meet its financial needs.

The prevailing policy of auctioning plots to meet expenditures is leading the civic body towards bankruptcy as selling fixed assets to pay recurring costs is not a wise solution in any economic term.

However, instead of finding or creating sustainable sources to cover the expenditure of the civic body, the higher ups of the CDA are once again going to auction 38 commercial plots situated at precious locations of the city.

The estate management directorates in consultation with planning wing are working on the proposal to sell more plots, which include residential and commercial plots, but the final approval in this regard would be made by CDA board.

The plots for auction includes categories of commercial, hotel, industrial, auto mobile workshop, timber, economy flats, fruit market, petrol pump and shopping centre in various sectors of the federal capital while the residential plots are other than these mentioned categories.

This is not an odd method, but a routine way by which the Authority sells plots to maintain its expenditure, which will ultimately ruin the CDA.

As per the budget document 2015-16, the civic body met its 60 per cent expenditure through the auction of plots or by recovering the balance amount of previously sold plots.

The Authority has generated only 16 per cent budged through other sources i.e. taxes, water charges; whereas, the federal government had also given a loan of five billion rupees to the Authority which was 23 per cent of the last budget.

According to budget documents, the civic body earned 12619.56 million rupees in the last financial year by selling plots, which includes 1236.36 million of commercial plots, 897 million of Blue Area’s plots, 4933 million through balance recoveries against sold plots and 5643.20 through sale of plots in Park Enclave I, II and the Margalla Retreat.

Unfortunately, the Authority sells hundreds of commercial and residential plots each year and spends the whole money on recurring costs and save noting.

It is pertinent to mention here that the sale of fixed assets can only be justified to a limited extent, but the adoption of this practice as a policy would ultimately leave the Authority in a state of abject bankruptcy.

Online adds: Non-delegation of powers to the local bodies representatives including Mayor, UC Chairmen and UC Vice-Chairmen has led to deprive the citizens of Rawalpindi civic amenities.

About 100 days have been completed following the oath taking by the Local Bodies representatives but no improvement has been witnessed in resolution of civic problems including traffic, cleanliness and others. All the local bodies representative including Mayor, UC Chairmen and Vice chairmen UC have not been given powers. The offices of local bodies have not been set-up as yet with the completion of 100 days.

The traffic system of Rawalpindi is non-functional, while the announcements for making the roads signal free have not gone from theory to practice. The water crisis is compounding day by day and in most of the areas water crunch is turning into nightmare.

A resident of Rawalpindi said that Mayor Rawalpindi failed to visit any UC, while the funds have not been released as yet. He slammed the government by saying that there is no use of holding dummy Local Bodies elections without devolving the powers to representatives and public. Non availability of medicines in municipal dispensaries has rendered them meaningless in the eyes of citizen.