May 19, 2007	Saturday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 02, 1428

ISLAMABAD, May 18: Senate Standing Committee on Interior has decided to scrutinise cases of agriculture farms allotted in the federal capital during the last three years.

The committee chairman, Senator Talha Mehmood, who visited the Capital Development Authority (CDA) offices along with other committee members on Thursday, directed the authority to prepare a comprehensive report on the allotment of agriculture farm house in Islamabad.

The CDA will prepare the report in 15 days and present it before the committee.

It has been learnt that some of the agriculture farms were allotted to ‘favourites’ and influential people. Besides, almost all owners of agriculture farms are violating the CDA rules and are using their farms for other than their original purpose.

The cost of an agriculture farm in Islamabad varies according to its location and size but the cost of an average farm is stated to be Rs150 million.

Over the years the CDA has leased out 451 agriculture and orchard farms in five different schemes at Tarlai Kalan, Sehana, Chak Shahzad and along Kahuta and Murree roads.

And the list of those who got them or purchased them reads like the who is who of Pakistan: President Gen Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, leaders of the house in the National Assembly and Senate, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Wasim Sajjad, opposition leaders Makhdoom Amin Fahim and Raja Nadir Pervez, Senate Chairman Mohammadmian Soomro, former senator Dr Shahzad Waseem and several army generals and journalists.

In fact the CDA had only been formalising the reality on the ground as the bigwigs build country houses on these leased out “small farms”.

Not only the CDA but electricity and gas companies also showed no respect to rules in providing their services for residential purposes when the master plan tied their use to agriculture.

The entry of the powerful and the elite of the country in Chak Shahzad Scheme has changed the fortune of the area. Prices of real estate have gone up and the Park Road passing through the locality has been widened.

According to the master plan of Islamabad, the main purpose to create agriculture farms was to grow fruits, vegetables and poultry to cater to the needs of the residents but since they were purchased by the elite and influential people, they are being used as spacious houses.

In the master plan the construction of only an office of farm manager was allowed in the farm houses but with the passage of time the CDA eased the policy for the big guns and now huge houses can be seen at these farms.