ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was asked by the Supreme Court to explain why the inquiry into the unauthorised development of a housing scheme, on the area reserved for a dam, was not completed.

A complaint was made to the NAB in September 2010 by a resident of Rawalpindi, Retired Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Tariq Kamal, alleging that the real estate project Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Valley was being developed on the area reserved for the lake adjoining the proposed Dadhocha dam. Following the verification of the complaint on June 13, 2011, the bureau had authorised an inquiry on July 3, 2012.

A two-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Jawwad S Khawaja heard the petition on Thursday and in addition to demanding an explanation from the NAB, also asked the Punjab government to submit a report on the allegations made by the petitioner.

Additional Prosecutor General Akbar Tarar and Deputy Prosecutor General Fauzi Zafar appeared before the court on behalf of the NAB.

Retired Lieutenant Colonel Kamal told the court that DHA, Bahria Town Pvt Limited and Habib Rafique developers had entered into a contract to develop various housing schemes including DHA Valley, DHA Phase II Extension, DHA Express Way and DHA Villas in Rawalpindi, as a joint venture.

He claimed that according to his evaluation, the DHA Valley was valued at Rs110 billion, DHA Phase II Extension at Rs70 billion, the Express Way at Rs50 billion and DHA Villas was valued at Rs100 billion.

The petitioner emphasised the importance of the Dadhocha Dam, arguing that it was a matter of life and death for the residents of the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, where the water table is fast depleting.

The DHA Valley housing scheme, he alleged, was being constructed on the site which had been identified and allocated by the Punjab Small Dam Agency for the construction of the dam.

The court expressed annoyance when the NAB representatives told the bench that both Bahria Town and DHA had shown reluctance in cooperating with the investigators.

Additional Attorney General Amir Rehman was asked by the court to contact the Survey of Pakistan and submit a report on whether the site where the housing project was being developed had been allocated for the dam.

The petitioner pleaded before the court that access to safe drinking water is a prerequisite for survival. He argued that the Rawal Dam and the Khanpur Dam are the major sources of water supply for the residents of Rawalpindi. The Rawal Dam, built in 1965 was technically assessed to have a life of 50 years, ending in 2015. The Khanpur Dam was constructed in 1983, but its output has been reduced by 30 per cent, the petition said.

It was highlighted in the petition that two new water reservoirs over Ling River and Sowan River were planned after realising the growing needs of the population. The constructed of the Dadhocha Dam was planned over Ling River, for which the JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) carried out the technical evaluation and made a recommendation.

The petition claimed that the citizens of the garrison city were being deprived of their right to this dam, for which the feasibility report was completed on November 15, 2002 by the Engineering, Irrigation and Power Department of the Punjab government.

Controversy has surrounded the DHA Valley project, which was designed to provide houses to soldiers, junior commissioned officers and families of martyrs but despite years later is yet to be developed. The scheme was to be developed by Bahria Town Pvt Ltd on the behalf of DHA but even after receiving billion from potential buyers in the shape of registration and plot fees, there is not much on ground.

Breakdown of NAB financial recoveries

The NAB also submitted a breakdown of Rs263.6 billion recovered from the year 2000 to till date. The chart presented before the court showed that of Rs263 billion, Rs19 billion was recovered by the NAB as voluntary return, whereas Rs10.7 billion came in the shape of plea bargains. Similarly, Rs181.3 billion was recovered on account of bank default or restructuring or rescheduling of bank loans. The NAB also recovered a sum of Rs15.9 billion from the case of the Punjab Cooperatives Bank Limited, Rs29.24 billion in the shape of court fines, imposed on the defaulters and Rs7.3 billion as indirect recoveries. The court had asked the NAB to submit a breakdown of financial recoveries made so far.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2015

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