March 23, 2006	Thursday	Safar 22, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, March 22: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) will hand the maintenance of all government buildings over to the Public Works Department (PWD), however, the 1,500 employees of the maintenance directorate would continue to work with the authority, a senior official of the CDA told Dawn on Wednesday.

The decision in this regard was made in a meeting presided over by the acting chairman, Kamran Ali Qureshi, here on Wednesday.

Earlier, the CDA was of the view that it will surrender the maintenance of government buildings to the PWD provided its 1,500 employees working in the maintenance directorate were absorbed by the latter. “The authority has now agreed to adjust these employees in its own directorates,” the official said.

He said the CDA required more staff in its anti-encroachment directorate that was being expanded on the directives of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. Besides, the authority had hundreds of vacant posts that could be filled by adjusting the staff of the maintenance directorate.

The official said that even after handing the maintenance of government buildings over to the PWD, the CDA would continue to look after different parks, roads, playgrounds and commercial centres.

The source said after a long battle, the PWD succeeded in convincing the government quarters that maintenance of official buildings should be handled by it, as it had already been looking after the government buildings in the capital.

The source said that according to a decision of the government, the charge of maintenance of all government buildings and residences was to be handed over to the PWD on January 1, 2002, but it could not be done because the government had reservations about the performance of the PWD and adjustment of the CDA employees.