April 14, 2008	Monday	Rabi-us-Sani 7, 1429

ISLAMABAD, April 13: City fathers are in a fix whether to uphold the rules of the Capital development Authority (CDA) or give in to political pressure and return Rs10 million that a well-connected man forfeited to the CDA under the rules, Dawn has learnt.

Sources in the CDA claim the man is closely related to the Senate chairman Mohammadmian Soomro. The sum was forfeited after a cheque of Rs343 million that he presented in a land deal with CDA bounced.

The cheque was issued in part payment of the winning bid of Rs1.7 billion made by the firm SGM, owned by the relative, for a 3.73-acre plot auctioned by CDA last July for constructing a five-star hotel close to Marriott Hotel.

When the first cheque of Rs343 million submitted by the firm bounced, the CDA sent a notice to it saying why should its bid not be cancelled for violating the terms of the deal under which 25 per cent of the bid money should have be paid within 15 days of winning the auction.

Instead of receiving a reply to the notice, the CDA chairman was summoned to the Prime Minister Secretariat, then being run by the caretaker government. There the CDA official was “grilled for being strict” to the firm. He was also asked to stop further proceedings against the company, according to the CDA sources.

Last week the CDA Board met to discuss the demand for the return of the Rs10 million security deposit.

But the opinion was divided at the meeting. Some warned against succumbing to political pressure and called for upholding rule of law. Others feared that their jobs would be on line if they did not.

The worry of the latter was that friends of the caretakers in the new coalition government could give them a tough time, the sources said.

They said the CDA Board meeting remained inconclusive.

The auction of the 3.73 acre plot adjacent to Marriott Hotel took place on July 31, 2007. The plot was marked for a 5-star hotel and the firm SGM won the auction by offering the highest bid of Rs1.4 billion at the rate of 77,000 per square yard.

According to the terms and condition of the auction, the winning firm had to pay 25 per cent of the cost (premium) within 15 days and the rest of the amount in three months time after it was issued offer letter on August 18.