Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Instead of launching an inquiry against the alleged corruption in land and estate wing of the Capital Development Authority (CDA), it is going to reinitiate the process of the allotment of alternate plots to those people whose land was acquired by the authority in past. Sources inside the CDA revealed that the higher ups of the civic body have formally decided to reinitiate the process of allotment of alternate plots to affected people. The officials said that a notification in this regard is likely to be issued in the coming week.

Following reports of corruption in May this year, a junior officer from the commerce and trade group was appointed as a deputy director general land and estate with the special powers of a member.

In fact, the officials of the directorate of estate and land have collaborated with property dealers who buy the file for the to-be-allotted plot from the person who was entitled an alternative plot at nominal rates. Later, the property dealers seek land at prime locations, earning them millions from each case.

The concerned parties showed their reservations at the authority’s decision and declared it a move to once again benefit certain favoured individuals. An influential property dealer, on the condition of anonymity, said: “there was a nexus of corruption between CDA officials and property dealers and these dealers have been continuously mounting pressure by saying they invested millions of rupees and purchased files from the allottees, and the ban was affecting their business adversely.”

He said further; “According to my understanding the said ban was imposed to calm down the situation, which was stirred up after the continuous allegations of corruption in allotment process.”

An officer inside the authority while talking to the Daily Times has said on condition of anonymity, “The authority should first investigate the allegations of corruption and assign responsibility. Without doing this, the whole allotment process will become dubious in future.” Sources inside land directorate briefed that the top management of CDA has decided to constitute a committee comprised on officials from land, estate management, planning and accounts directorates to overlook the whole process, but the said committee would be headed by Deputy Director General Land and Estate Islam Shah.

Islam Shah is the same officer who supervised the allotment process in the past when it was stopped due to alleged corruption.