Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Circle Registrar Islamabad has suspended the body of the Civilian Employees Cooperative Housing Society (CECHS), on alleged corruption in society and non resolution of problems facing the residents and handed over the charge of the society to the Assistant Commissioner Rural, on a temporary basis.

Well placed sources told Daily Times that members of the society and some persons from an elected body had sent applications to the Circle Registrar, Muhammad Ali, that citizens residing in the society were suffering heavily due to conflicts and differences between the President of the Society, Ansar Gondal and the General Secretary, Yasir Mehdi.

This way not only the image of the society was being tarnished but an investment of billions of rupees made by the society was also sinking due to corruption and nepotism.

The Circle Registrar, Muhammad Ali, took immediate action and ordered for taking into custody the record of the society besides appointing AC Rural Jawad, temporarily.

He ordered that the society’s matters be subjected to audit again in accordance with its chartered map, legal proceedings be initiated against the persons found involved in malpractices and corruption and their constitutional rights be given to the affected persons of the society.

It has been learnt that the land was allocated for a graveyard, schools, a park and mosques in the first map of the housing society. But the influential mafia, under a pre- conceived plan, sold out this land at a cost of billions of rupees. The sewerage nullah has been covered by building a roof and a project of billions of rupees has been started by declaring the covered space of the nullah as “commercial”. The Circle Registrar was told about it verbally but information in writing was not given to him in this regard.

The members of the housing society contacted the Circle Registrar and informed him that the land mafia was occupying the society and was minting money running into billions of rupees by selling the land.

The members said that they had decided to build their homes in this society with the hope that the civic amenities would be provided to them. But here neither a school nor a park exists and even a mosque has not been built to establish regular prayers.

According to sources, differences had emerged among the members of body on the matters of corruption and nepotism, therefore, they resorted to the registrar’s office. Sources said that the Circle Registrar was an honest and hard working official and he wanted that a written complaint should come to him about the financial irregularities and corrupt practices in the society and only then he would be able to take action.

When several applications were received by him then he suspended the body of the society immediately for two months and ordered for conducting a comprehensive audit of the record and matters of the society again.

He also ordered that he be informed within two months about the many plots that had been devoured and how corruption was committed at a large scale and how people harvested money from corruption. It has also been learnt that the cases are lying with the NAB in respect of this society but the work on these cases is going at a slow pace due to external influence and pressure. A fake inquiry was started in the NAB but it was shelved for certain unknown reasons.

There are dozens of members of the society who are making rounds upon rounds from one office to the other holding letters in their hands but the plots are not being allotted to them. Their cases are pending hearings in different forums but the society is showing an indifferent attitude to them.

A source from the Circle Registrar’s office told Daily Times that the audit which was being conducted was very stringent. The big fish would be netted and the hard earned money of the public would be recovered at every cost.

The source further said that the record was being prepared on a fast track basis.

According to sources, the Deputy Commissioner, Capt (R) Mushtaq Ahmad, had taken notice of corruption and nepotism in the society a few months ago but he could not take action at that time for want of credible evidence.