March 24, 2003	Monday	Muharram 20, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, March 23: A delegation of retired government servants, who had applied for plots in Islamabad New City project, has met President Gen Pervez Musharraf and called for early reimbursement of their money deposited with the National Housing Authority (NHA).

Talking to Dawn on Sunday, a member of the delegation said they had informed the president that Rs300 million, deposited by over 3,000 people in the project, had been misappropriated by the NHA officials.

The president was told that the government was doing nothing to provide relief to the people who had deposited the money over eight years ago.

The delegation member said the president had assured them that their money would be returned, and the officials involved in misappropriation be dealt with accordingly.

The delegation was of the view that the ministry had conceded that its officials had embezzled the money deposited by the applicants.

Unfortunately, the project proved to be a fake one and the amount deposited by the applicants remained stuck with the executing agencies.

The president was told that the project had two phases — one was being dealt by the NHA and the second by the Capital Development Authority (CDA). The CDA has reimbursed the amount the 1,900 applicants, but the NHA has no answer as to where the amount was utilized.

The amount deposited during the second phase was Rs162 million, while Rs300 million had been deposited with the NHA in the first phase.

The project of Islamabad New City was launched in 1996. The total number of people who applied for plots in two phases of the project is stated to be over 5,000.