ISLAMABAD, Sept 1: The housing ministry has opposed the levy of additional development charges on the owners of plots in D-12 sector and has sent a summary to President Gen Pervez Musharraf, asking him to direct the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to withdraw the charges, ministry sources told Dawn on Sunday.

The sources said the interior ministry, under which the CDA works, was bent upon levying the additional charges while the housing ministry was opposing it.

The CDA had already charged additional development charges at the rate of Rs650 per sq yard from the allottees. Now the authority is again levying additional charges at the same rate.

When the two ministries confront each other’s point of view, the issue is sent to the president for final decision and this decision is acceptable to both ministries, the sources said.

“Same is the case with D-12 sector, the issue has been referred to the president so that a decision could be taken in this regard,” they added.

However, the CDA had levied additional charges on the owners of the plots on the pretext of meeting the increased cost of the project.

The sources said the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) had also directed the CDA not to impose additional charges. However, contrary to the directives of Ecnec, the interior ministry has justified the imposition of the additional development charges of Rs650 per sq feet.

They said the estimated expenditure for developing D-12 sector had escalated over 300 per cent within a span of 14 years. They said Ecnec, in its recently held meeting, was of the view that the authority could meet the escalated cost of the project by selling 720 commercial plots in the sector and not by levying additional charges.

“If an additional development charge is levied, the CDA would generate a sum of Rs300 million. However, the authority had already recovered an amount of Rs700 million as development charges from the plot owners,” the sources added.

A senior CDA official also agreed that additional development charges should not be levied on the owners of the already sold plots because they had purchased the plots over a decade ago and were waiting for the development of the new sector to begin.

The PC-I of the project amounting to Rs788 million was approved by the CDA board in 1988, but due to several reasons the project was delayed and its estimated cost increased to Rs3.7 billion. However, recently Ecnec slashed down its cost to Rs3.2 billion.

The long awaited D-12 sector project was formally launched on July 17 after 14 years. Some 3,445 residential plots would be carved out, including 725 plots for construction of flats. About 870 plots will be auctioned and money to be generated in this way will be utilized for the development of the sector.

The official said so far no commercial plot had been sold. He said the entire project would be completed within the specified period of three years.

He said the CDA had already awarded tenders for the construction of roads, sewage system, bridges and water supply system in the new sector.