Daily Times

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday constituted a three-member commission to settle evacuation and development issue of the sector E-12 and the court barred Capital Development Authority (CDA) from allotting any new plot until finalization of the case.

Chief justice IHC Athar Minallah took up the petition filed by some aggrieved persons of the sector E-12 who not had been given possession of their plots and payments of the dues to selling parties in the sector. The committee formed by the court comprised on Prime Minister Imran Khan Special advisor on CDA Ali Nawaz Awan, MNA Khuram Nawaz Awan and Chairman CDA Dr Amir Ahmed Ali.

During hearing, former federal finance minister Asad Umer said that the CDA intentionally spoiled the cases of the effectees and practiced unnecessary delays in payments. In response, chairman CDA Dr Ahmed Ali said that he want to reply the allegation leveled by the former minster while the Asad Umer said that he did meant to target chairman. “Instead I talked about the CDA as an institution”, Asad Umer clarified.

After hearing the arguments, justice Minallah directed the commission to prepare a comprehensive report within month over this issue and also submit the strategy to the court within given deadline.

According to the information, development of sector E-12 was long standing issue as the land of the sector was acquired in 1987 and allotment of the plots to general public including federal employees was made in 1989 but the sector could not be developed due to noncooperation of local people, although they had been compensated in lieu of acquired land.

More than 4,000 people have been allotted plots in this sector while most of the original people who were allotted plots have already died waiting to get possession of their land for the last 30 years.

The ICT Administration and CDA have taken over the possession of the sector after an anti-encroachment drive was launched in the sector by the CDA authorities in February.

Aftermath of the operation, the civic agency also claimed in a press release that sector Development Directorate of CDA has started preliminary development work on service road west of the sector while staff of Land and Rehabilitation Directorate, Land Survey, Enforcement Directorate and other formations concerned has also been deputed at the site. Officers of Islamabad Administration were present at the site for the assistance of the CDA teams.

Initially, service roads of the sector are being developed, while earth work on the adjacent areas is also being carried out.

The CDA said that there are around a thousand houses in this area, and the CDA could face resistance when it moves to demolish them. E-12 was first announced in the 1970s, and the CDA acquired land for around 5,000 housing units. The sector is spread over 777.3 acres and consists of six mouzas: Dharek Mohri, Bhakar Mohri, Bhakkar Fateh Baksh, Bara Darri, Sari Saral and Golra Sharif.

The authority has not been able to take possession of the land due to claims by locals that their built up property award claims are still pending. They have said they will not vacate the area until the CDA compensates them, which the CDA says it already has.